My Love for You
by SetsunaNoroi
Summary: An arranged marriage will take place in Konoha to merge two lands. But what if the samurai of the other land don't want Ninja in their country? Can one forsake evrything for love or will it lead to ruin? ShinoOC possible KibaOC Rated T for fighting, ect.
1. The Proposal

This is my second Naruto fic and one of my few multi-chapter stories. It also has romance in it (like that's a big deal, just about all my fics have romance) but this time I'm going to try something a little harder. The main romance interests are going to be with original characters. I have generally avoided doing this out of fear of creating a Mary Sue but I've decided to finally try my hand at it. Please, if anything isn't written well or I go overboard with my characters (there will be two girls) than feel free to let me know. I'll even accept flames as long as there are real complaints and not just the usual "You, your fanfiction, your friends, your family, your favorite game/anime, your pets, and all your houseplants SUCK!" Please people; you all have so much more talent than that.

This is set in the future, after Naruto 2. You know, with the whole Sasuke leaving thing, but he did come back for my fic, although I don't know how it really ends in the anime/manga. Heh, haven't gotten that far sadly. Naruto and everyone his age are now 19. If you really want to know the ages of the other characters than you can do the math yourself, I can't say I care enough.

Okay, that only leaves the disclaimer. I don't own Naruto, some hotshots in Japan do and I'm not one of them. I have no way to prove that since the Internet is anonymous but it's best if you don't pay me, just incase. I do own Zenkon Mori and Gisei Setsuna (family name's first), and the Daimyou of the Land of the Meadows. There are a couple other original characters but they don't show up in this chapter so I won't mention them right now. I don't think anyone will want to (I've never seen anyone ask for this) but if you want to use any of my OC than please ask first. I'll probably say yes but I just want to know if it's happening.

Chapter 1: The Proposal

The skies in Konohagakure were a clear blue. Not a bird or cloud graced it, making it look like a sea in the sky to anyone that looked upon it. Sakura was strolling idly around, enjoying the nice afternoon during her lunch break from the classes she taught when she heard a strange rumbling. She turned with curiosity and saw a carriage pass by. It was a pretty one, made out of polished beech with gold trimming on the roof. She just barely saw the face of an elder man through the sheen red curtains before it completely got ahead of her. Crossing her arms, she wondered who that could have been. Carriages like that were expensive. Maybe some Lord was seeking bodyguards or something? It _had_ been heading to the Ninja Academy.

The watch she suddenly glanced at showed her that her class had started a few minutes ago. With a small scream she ran towards where the carriage had just been heading to.

---------

Tsunade looked over the letter she had received several weeks ago. Today was the day of arrival, however she had kept that fact secret as she had been requested. They were supposed to be arriving shortly. Leaning back in her desk, she let her back pop from sitting in one place for so long. She'd never had been one for deskwork but ever since the death of the Third she seemed to be swamped with it. A knock erupted her thoughts and she gave an "Enter," in reply.

Aburame Shino opened the door and stepped in. He gave a respectful nod of the head to Tsunade, who returned it. He wore the same outfit he had owned since his years as a Chonin and the jacket that covered his head, making his face almost unseeable. She wondered briefly why he hid it to begin with. Did he have something he didn't want people to see, or was it simply to make people wonder, like what Kakashi enjoyed doing? Somehow, neither explanation seemed to fit.

"You called?" Shino asked. His sentences were short and concise, as if his time were too valuable to waste, even on a Hokage. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"We have some visitors coming soon. The Daimyou of the Land of the Meadows. The country has expressed interest in starting a ninja village and has requested our assistance. Sending Chunin to be teachers for a few years and so forth. However, the Daimyou has requested to see our own Village first before any decisions. I need someone to attend to him and his companions for the week of their stay," she explained.

"Companions?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"His daughter and apparently a personal bodyguard. There is going to be an arranged marriage, so it'll be a joining of two countries as well as a new Hidden Village. I'm extending you because since you're a highly skilled Jonin and well… let's just say your better for a diplomatic mission like this than some of the others." She closed her eyes and mentally grimaced as she imagined Naruto showing them around. Though a brand new Jonin, the man still acted like a boy. "You should be able to show them just what we have to offer skill wise and answer any questions about the Village itself."

Shino nodded. "When will they arrive?"

"The Daimyou actually wanted to keep it under confidence about their visit until they got here. They should be here anytime now."

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door again. Iruka poked his head inside.

"Tsunade-san, the are some visitors to see you. They-"

"I know Iruka. Send them in," she answered.

Iruka left and three people stepped inside. One was an elder gentleman, age somewhere around fifty Tsunade would have guessed from the graying hair that still covered his head, dressed in purple kimono robes that held the finest tastes. The price for it could have easily paid for every piece of furniture in her office. There were also two young women, one dressed in a deep red and pink kimono with just as fine silk as the gentleman's and a sheen red material fan hiding the lower part of her face, and seemed to offset her burgundy eyes well. Jewelry was scarce on her but her brown bunned hair was held in place by golden chopsticks with tiny rubies dangling from the ends. The other was not as nearly finely dressed. Black pants and a white tunic were just barely visible underneath a black trench coat that must have had at least thirty buttons closing the coat from the chest to the ankles. A sword hung at her side and her spiky black hair was tied in a short haphazard ponytail that rested on the hood of her coat. A white kanji meaning 'banished' was sewn into her back.

"Daimyou of the Land of the Meadows, I presume?" she asked as she stood.

"Correct. Thank you for hosting us in your wonderful country. This is my daughter, Zenkon Mori."

The young woman in the kimono bowed deeply. "It is an honor to see your village. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this opportunity."

"Yes, of course, it is quite a request. We are more than happy to oblige, and while you stay, I have chosen a Jonin to show you around the Village." She indicated to Shino who gave a bow to the three. His eyes narrowed as the bodyguard silently snorted. "This is Shino of the Aburame clan. Please, if you need anything, let us know."

"I actually have business to discuss with you. Perhaps the young man would show around my daughter while we talk?" The Daimyou proposed.

"Of course, " Shino replied and turned to the two women. "What is it you wish to see?"

The princess averted her gaze. "May I see the training grounds?" she asked.

"If you wish," he answered. He led the two outside and a fist caught his sleeve after the door had closed. He turned to see the princess giving him a strange look.

"Would you mind horribly if I change my clothing? My father wished to make a good impression but I don't want to wear this while walking around if I don't have to," she explained to him.

"Alright," he said with a nod.

"Thank you," she replied. "Stay here Setsuna, I'll be back."

The other woman looked as if she would have liked to argue the point but Mori was already running off. Instead she crossed her arms and settled against a wall. Shino could tell that she was not happy to be there. From the look of her katana, she was a samurai. Her displeasure was understandable. Samurai and ninja didn't like each other much. She was no doubt uncomfortable to be in ninja territory, even as a guest.

He made no attempt at conversation, not really interested enough to try. After a while the princess ran up to them, excitement on her face. Her hair now hung loose to the small of her back and her fancy kimono had been replaced with a simple sky blue one with a yellow sash and butterflies decorating the material. The dark makeup had been washed from her face and Shino would not have guessed she was a Princess from her present appearance. Now that he could see her face it was rather plain, though it held a nice smile.

"Thank you for waiting," she said as she gave a quick bow. "Shall we go?"

Shino nodded, leading the girls outside. It only took a few minuets to reach an outdoor class where young students were practicing the Replacement Technique. Mori watched in awe from an upper story balcony as they dodged shuriken and kunai knives.

"Such skill," she breathed. "I had no idea that you ninja were so talented. And these are only students?"

"Correct," he replied.

"Hey, Shino!" The three turned around to see a man their age running up to them, a huge dog following behind him. "What are you doing here?" he asked when he reached them. He gave Shino a grin. "Babysitting? Not much of a mission is it?"

Shino ahemed. "Kiba, this is Zenkon Mori, Princess of the Land of the Meadows and her bodyguard, Gisei Setuna. I'll be showing them around the village for about a week."

"Princess?" he asked as he looked at Mori. "Really?"

"You have no right to look down on Lady Zenkon!" Setsuna suddenly snapped. Shino sighed. He knew it was going to happen eventually, the tension around her was tighter than a bow.

"Who the hell do you think you are to order me around like that?" Kiba snapped back at her.

"We're guests in your disgraceful village! It's bad enough that I have to stomach being here in the first place but the fact that you can't even show a paying costumer, and a Princess no less, any respect only shows what talentless miscreants you people really are!" Her gray eyes glared daggers.

"Setsuna, stop it." Though quiet, Mori's voice whipped Setsuna's head around as quickly as if she had slapped her samurai bodyguard. "As you said, we are guests here, just as they are our hosts. I'm ashamed that you can't even show them the common courtesy to be polite to them. Now please apologize."

Setsuna closed her eyes and turned to Kiba. "I beg your forgiveness. Your skills have nothing to do with how you just acted and I had no right to insult it."

Kiba smirked. "No problem…little girl."

"Perhaps we should head back to our room. No doubt Father is done talking with the Hokage," Mori said to Setsuna, who showed no indication other than a clenched fist that she head heard him. "Thank you for showing me the grounds, but from now on stay with my Father. I don't think I'll need your assistance from now on."

Though more politely phrased, she was obviously angry with her servant being insulted like that. Shino didn't bother saying goodbye as she stalked off, Setsuna in tow. He did however give Kiba a look that could have cut through steel.

"What?" he asked as Akamaru barked softly.

Shino shook his head. "Clueless."

---------

"I'm sorry," Mori said as they walked back to the rooms they had been provided in the Ninja Academy for travelers. "I shouldn't have asked you to come here with us. You were uncomfortable with this idea to begin with."

"It is my duty to accompany you wherever you go Lady Zenknon. Please don't concern yourself with trivial matters such as my personal views," Setsuna replied. "If the Daimyou wishes a ninja military than I have no right to try and interfere."

"But he-"

"Is an honorless ninja. Do not worry. I was not insulted by his comment about me. It was only when he disrespected you did I feel angered."

Mori smiled. "If you say so."

"Lady Zenkon," Setsuna asked as she suddenly stopped. "Are you happy with this situation? I know it's not my place but I can't help but feel as if I should ask."

"If it means my people's happiness than my life doesn't matter, does it?" Mori answered. "So yes, I'm fine with it."

"Then why is your smile so hollow?" she asked as the princess walked away.

---------

Mori sat in front of her mirror as she waited for Setsuna to come for her. It wouldn't be much longer before the orientation ceremony were she would be introduced to the Village hidden in the Leafs as the possible bride-to-be that would merge the Land of the Fire to the Land of the Meadows. She had been able to beg her father from having to appear before them in anything too fancy so she was still in her blue kimono. Though she did want to look perfect for this event, she just felt more at ease in the simpler clothing. She knew that she would make a better impression if she were comfortable, instead of beautiful.

A knock sounded on the wooden door and she leapt up to answer it.

"Is Father ready?" she asked before she saw that it was Shino, not Setsuna, who was at the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Accept my apologies about earlier. My friend Kiba was out of line. I came to collect you instead of Setsuna because it was requested of me by the Daimyou," he explained to her.

"I see." She avoided his gaze. She should have expected her father to do something like this. He wanted to show how much faith he was putting in these ninjas that he wasn't even going to let her bodyguard do her job. "Thank you for escorting me than. Shall we go?"

He nodded and she fell into step with him. Night had fallen several hours ago so the main source of light was the electric ones overhead but she could see the stars and waxing moon from the large windows as well. Turning her attention to the man with her, she noticed that he was several inches taller than she was. There wasn't much else she could tell from him because of his jacket, not even his face was well visible.

"Shino," she asked. "May I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?" he responded, not glancing over at her.

"I was told that you're a Jonin, an elite ninja, but I don't know much about them, so I'm not really sure what that means. Someday during my visit, would you mind showing me some techniques?"

He shook his head. "You wouldn't like what you saw."

----------

Okay, there's my first chapter. Hope it was okay. And yeah, if it wasn't obvious enough, the coupling will be between Shino and Mori. I haven't decided on Setsuna/Kiba yet. She came out more anti-social than what I had intended. Can't stand those characters that develop a mind of their own.

Please let me know if the characterization was good or not. I'll admit that since this was a future fic that I put Tsunade in it without even knowing her well aside from what I've seen on the internet about her. Also I tried to keep the basic personality of all the characters who had been kids and simply mature them slightly so they'd seem more adult. Don't know if that worked or not. You see how I need those reviews? I second-guess myself on everything.

Thanks to Nando for betaing this for me. For those of you who are also FF7 fans, you should read his stuff 'cause it's pretty good.


	2. Why do you Hide?

Second chapter in My Love for You.

I don't own Naruto, the anime, the manga, or even the character. If I did I would have made Sakura a lot less mean to Naruto and had Hinata confess her feelings to Naruto sometime in the plotline. Since this is a fanfiction, guess what I'll probably end up doing. Just because this is centered around Shino, I still love the other characters to bits as well and plan to add them to the story somewhere. Um, so don't sue me, or something around those lines. Yeah.

Chapter 2: Why Do You Hide?

"You wouldn't like what you saw."

His words were a little cold and Mori didn't know how to respond to it. It was so… final. She mentally shuddered as thoughts came to her of why exactly she wouldn't like to see him in action.

"I'm sorry," she said softly as they continued their walk.

"Now may I ask you something?" he asked a few moments later.

"Of course," she answered.

"Why does the Land of the Meadows want a Ninja Village in their country so badly? And why is there going to be an arranged marriage as well?"

She looked down at the ground, as if too afraid to look up at him. In a way, she was.

"My country is a small one, and though our people aren't starving in the streets we don't really have very much money. My father hopes that by introducing a Hidden Village to our country, he will be able to produce an economic boom. However, the price of using several ninja for many years, even just as teachers, is an unthinkable price. We would lose everything if this were to fail… and heavily be in debt even if we were to succeed. If I am to get married to one of the ninjas here though, creating a Village will be an act between two allied countries, and should be much less of a financial risk," she explained to him.

"Who is it you will be marrying?"

"I do not know. Father will pick a ninja out for me. This is the whole reason for us staying a whole week. He wishes to find a strong leader that will be able to replace him, and maybe even introduce a ninja trait in the bloodline."

Shino asked no more and neither did Mori. There was something about this man that seemed so off. He was cold and detached. Were all ninja like that? She had only grown up around samurai, specifically Setsuna. But then again, her bodyguard wasn't really different from him. Maybe it was a warrior thing. She didn't really pretend to understand it.

They reached the parade grounds where they found Tsunade, Setsuna and the Daimyo waiting for them in front of a huge crowd of people. Decorations were everywhere around the streets and looked as if it were a festival rather than an introduction ceremony. Shino could recognize the faces of some of his comrades in the crowd. Hinata gave him a wave that was barely visible, and Naruto was practically bouncing up and down to see what was going on.

"Citizens of Konohagakure," Tsunade called out, "it is with extreme pleasure that I introduce to you all the Daimyou and Princess of the Land of the Meadows. They will be our guests for the following week. Afterwards, we will be helping them in the construction of the Village Hidden in the Plains. The Princess, Zenkon Mori, is the bride-to-be that will lead us in the union of our two countries. I ask you all to be gracious to our guests, and enjoy this night of celebration!"

Fireworks went off as she finished talking and a cheer rang up from the crowd. Mori smiled happily at them, glad she was being welcomed so warmly. She knew she would be expected to mingle in the crowd and she saw the Daimyou was already talking to men who could only be the heads of the important households.

A sudden bark caught her attention and she whirled around to see a massive white and brown dog looking up at her. This dog, wasn't it Kiba's?

"Hello there," she said as she bent down to scratch his head. He looked extremely pleased with this and wagged his tail happily.

"His name is Akamaru," Kiba said from where he had suddenly appeared. "He's really smart and powerful."

"Are you?" she asked the dog, who woofed and wagged his tail even harder. "Well, maybe than you can tell your master how rude it was to insult Setsuna like that."

"Heh heh," Kiba said as he scratched the back of his head. "Well you see…"

"It's alright," Mori said after Kiba trailed off. "Setsuna is a member of the Gisei Clan, a family of Samurai who have protected mine for over two hundred years. She's very proud of who she is. But… my father feels the way of the Samurai is passing, so he wants to replace them with ninja. Someone as proud her, it's only natural that'd she'd be insulted. She not such a bad person once you get to know her."

Kiba looked over at Setsuna, who wasn't standing too far off, watching Mori. He could see a shadow of something strange in her eyes. But when she looked up him, she glared at him unashamedly. He glared right back at her and even went so far as to stick his tongue out her. An eyebrow twitched and she turned away in anger. He let himself puff himself in pride at getting to her and gave a silent snort. No wonder no one liked samurai, they were so stuck up.

"If you'll excuse me," Mori said as she stood and gave a small wave. "Bye Akamaru."

"Woof!"

"Are you capable of getting along with anyone?" Shino asked as he walked up to him.

"Not my fault, girls are just sensitive," the dog ninja retorted.

"You sound like you're a five year old. One's a Princess and the other is a Samurai. They're more than just little girls. And the fact that you're getting so flustered about it only shows how sensitive _you_ are."

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba replied. "Just where do you get off lecturing me anyway? It's not like it matters if either of them like me."

"Hmm," his friend supplied.

"So," Kiba asked, "what do you think about the Princess anyway?"

"Konohagakure is not fighting with any other Hidden Villages right now. We defeated the Village Hidden in the Sound, and the Village Hidden in the Sand is our ally as well. Theoretically, we don't need another. However, the more friends we have the better, and since this treaty is fresh it will probably stand strong for a while, at least for a generation or two. I think Tsunade is right in agreeing to an arranged marriage," Shino answered.

"That wasn't what I asked," he said and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Shino didn't reply as he watched Mori talk with many different ninja, most of them male. It only made sense. Though she was not a ninja, it would be a great honor to marry Mori and thus help merge the Land of Fire and the Land of Meadows. Chances were she would be matched up with a member of a high family, with power, both in ninjutsu and politics. Someone like Neji. With a small chuckle he imagined Mori and Hinata in the same family. They'd compliment each other well, at least.

"She's cute, not gorgeous, but certainly not ugly either," Kiba commented, obviously wanting to get the conversation going again.

"Maybe you should court her then," Shino said, not really thinking his friend was serious.

Kiba shook his head. "Nah, marriage should be for love, not just power. I couldn't take a family like that. Besides, there aint no way I'm going to a country where damn samurai are the major power. So, wanna hook up with Hinata and get some ramen? We can invite Naruto too."

"Still trying to get them together?" Shino asked as he absent mindly scratched Akamaru's back.

"She's gonna have to tell him someday," he reasoned.

"You're not much of a match maker."

"Whatever."

---------

'She's having such a good time. What right do I have to interfere with that?' Setsuna thought as she also watched Mori. No matter how much she told herself that she was only thinking about her Princess's interests, she could not help but feel anger at this whole situation. Her entire life she had been loyal to the Zenkon family, and she was rewarded by being thrown away? Even the Daimyou had ordered her to keep a good distance while Mori introduced herself to the others.

It made her sick that it had to be her alive when her family came to this. But she also had no room to complain. She was a bodyguard, a simple servant. It wasn't her place to argue with or try to correct the Zenkon family. She would remain loyal to the end, even if it meant the fall of samurai like her. And it's not like she didn't know it was going to happen eventually. There was a reason the word 'banished' was printed on her back.

"Sake?"

Setsuna turned see a young woman, maybe her age with short pink hair. She was in a blue dress that looked to be a modification of the regular ninja uniform, and an open flak jacket vest. She smiled brightly, and Setsuna actually thought for a moment she was talking to somebody else. A white clay bottle was in her hands, and she offered it to the samurai who took it after a moment and got a glass poured for her.

"Thank you," Setsuna said, a tad perplexed by the behavior.

"My name's Sakura. You're from the Land of the Meadows, right?"

Setsuna nodded.

"I saw the carriage bringing you into town earlier. If I had known that you were coming I would have greeted you properly. I'm actually a teacher in the Academy. Who knows, maybe I'll get to see your country as well."

The smile on Sakura's lips never seemed to quit. Setsuna smiled back as well, if only to be polite. She didn't think she could be rude to this woman if she wanted to.

"How pathetic," a figure in the shadows of a tree commented. "To think that that idiot of a Daimyou would stoop to this."

"What shall we do, Kekkon?"

"What do you think? The only way this plan will commence is if the Princess is married to a ninja of this Village. Zenkon Mori is to die."

---------

Sunlight steamed into the window of Mori's room, but she wasn't there to appreciate it. She was sure that by this time Setsuna was knocking at her door, asking to be let in before she'd find out Mori was missing. Well, she had left Setsuna a note. And it's not like she wouldn't have been able to be found.

"This is excellent ramen," she commented to Shino.

"I'm glad your enjoying it," he replied.

She looked around the small ramen stand. Actually, she'd never had the stuff, but when she'd mentioned breakfast, he had taken her there, explaining that he often ate there with a very good friend of his. Practically lived on the stuff, she had been told. It was good, but she didn't think she would want to eat nothing but and she couldn't imagine how Shino's friend would want to.

"Shino?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes?"

"How… how can you eat that without spilling on your collar?" she asked.

He just turned around and gave her a look. Well, she supposed it was a look; it was hard to tell with the glasses and everything. "What?"

She did her best to suppress a smile. "I was curious."

He continued staring at her and she started to feel embarrassed about asking him something so dumb. "You're a little strange for a princess," he noted.

She looked away with a small blush. "I suppose I am. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," he said as he turned back around in his chair. "It's just a little weird to be asked."

"By a princess?"  
"By anyone."

"Really?" Mori questioned. "It's never come up before?"

"Why would it?"

Mori shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems a little weird to hide your face all the time. Or is that just a ninja thing I wouldn't understand?"

"I suppose we're both strange by each other's standards," he concluded.

She gave a small laugh. "Well, at least I'll have that in common with my future husband."

Shino gave Mori a glance, who realized instantly that she had said something stupid again.

"Are you upset with the idea of an arranged marriage?" he inquired.

She immediately shook her head. "I've grown up with the idea all my life. It doesn't bother me at all. I know that this will immensely help my people if I can help two countries come together. But…I'm sorry, you'll think this is stupid."

"I promise I won't," he told her.

She swallowed and nodded.

"I'm afraid that I'll fail my people. We are a country of samurai. Though the cultures and traditions have seemed to die in the other countries since the development of the Hidden Villages, we have held on so strong to ours. My father sees this as a necessary advancement for our country, and in some ways I agree. However, I'm also afraid that the samurai in my country will be angered by this. Just look at Setsuna, she's so proud of her family line that she's insulted to even be around ninja. Imagine how an entire country would feel. I want to help my people in anyway I can, but I'm afraid that I don't know what course I should take to do that." She looked up at Shino and he could see real worry in her eyes. "I don't now what I should do. As a princess, I'd gladly sacrifice myself to help my country without a second thought, but if I do the wrong thing then there is a chance I could do the exact opposite."

Shino just stared at her as she confessed her fears. She looked so hopeless, as if she expected the weight of the world to crush her if she didn't balance things properly. In a way, it would. If the conflict between ninja and samurai was so great then this could produce a civil war when she came back to her home and announced she was now married to a ninja.

A hand gently slid over hers and she smiled weakly at his gesture.

"I apologize," she murmured. "This isn't any of your concern."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"It's strange," she observed. "I have never shared this with anyone, not even Setsuna. It's nice to be able to confess to somebody who won't judge me by my words… besides for thinking I'm weird, of course."

"Of course," he mimicked, actually smiling, though Mori couldn't see it.

"Shino, do you enjoy art?" she asked.

"To an extent," he answered.

"Is there a museum where we can go look at some?"

---------

The art of the Konoha Village was beautiful, but not something Shino would devote much time to studying. They were really useless in a Ninja's life. A warrior didn't have time to appreciate pretty pictures and sculptures. Not like normal people did.

"This one is stunning," Mori breathed.

The young Jonin turned to the piece of art the princess was referring to. It was a portrait, about twenty inches in width and length that held the image of a single butterfly of various dazzling colors. It was resting on water and ripples were beneath its wings. The title read 'Rainbow on Wings'.

"Do you have a liking towards butterflies?" he asked her. The portrait, her kimono, he supposed he couldn't help but be curious.

She nodded. "They're pretty," she answered him. "An insect that people don't like can transform itself into a creature of utmost beauty. All it has to do is wait in its cocoon long enough and it can become something that everyone loves. Don't you think something like that should be respected?"

---------

Kay, that's it for now. I hope your enjoying this. Arg, I actually never knew that creating a non-Mary Sue OC would be so hard. I'm trying to make the characters interesting enough without making them both into …well, a Mary Sue. I actually pulled it off once in another fic but she was never intended to be with anyone so I suppose I wasn't too worried about her.

The end of this chapter may seem a little strange, but I promise you, there is a reason for it, besides the whole, "Oh, I'll make the princess like bugs and that'll be the basis on which Shino starts to like her!" Trust me, that is not the case. I was originally intending to have the last scene be the opening to the next chapter, but number three pretty much features Setsuna and it didn't seem to fit well there, so it got put here, where it really belongs.

Well, review if you are liking it so far.


	3. Other Sides

All right! Third chapter in my fic. I'm on a total roll!

Don't own Naruto. Bet no one saw that coming.

Chapter 3: Other Sides

Setsuna didn't look up as the door to Mori's room opened. The princess stepped inside and looked slightly surprised to see her bodyguard in her room. It was several hours into the afternoon. Had she just now found the note?

"Setsuna?" Mori asked to the figure sitting on her bed, staring at the paper in her hands.

"Yes, Lady Zenkon?" she asked without looking up.

"How long have you been in here?"

"A while. Did you have a nice time?" Setsuna was now looking up at her charge, but there was something in her eyes that made Mori uneasy. She looked tired, as if possessed by something.

"Yes," the princess answered nonetheless. "Shino showed me all kind of things in the town today. I had no idea that a Hidden Village could have so many wonders in it. You should go see some of them."

"Do you wish to go out again?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm a little tired."

For a moment the samurai had been smiling, and maybe even looking a little hopeful, but at Mori's refusal she was quickly frowning again.

"I see," she said as she stood. "Then I suggest you rest Lady Zenknon. The Daimyou will be beside himself if you were to exhaust yourself. After all, you'll probably be with a fiancé in a few days." She quickly walked out. Mori whirled around as the door slide shut and clasped her hands in worry.

"Setsuna?" she asked to the suddenly empty air.

---------

The stone faces of the preceding Hokage's faces stared down at Setsuna as she watched the sky. The railing she was leaning on was uncomfortable to sit on, but she didn't pay it any mind. Angry storm clouds were overhead, threatening to rain soon. She silently dared them to, just to prove how miserable this pathetic village really was. The rain would fit her mood anyway.

'I'm acting like a child,' she thought to herself. 'What does it matter if Lady Zenkon is by my side or not? This country has just made a treaty with us, and she has a Jonin with her. She's in no danger. Why does she need me to be with her anymore?'

Lightning flashed in the sky and she snarled. It mattered more than she could ever explain. Lady Zenkon was the only thing in this world that truly mattered to her, and she was being ripped away from her as if she no longer even mattered. And really, did she? Her country would soon be of ninja, not samurai. She would no longer have a place in the Main Household, or even in her entire country.

"No," she whispered. "Lady Zenkon would never send me away."

And yet she knew that to be a lie. She and the princess had once been as close as sisters. They were never seen without one another. But she was now beginning to step away from Setsuna, and more towards the culture that Setsuna hated so much.

"Damn ninja," she cursed. She hated being here, she hated the union that was going to happen, and she hated every ninja in this God forsaken place. Well, that was not completely true. She supposed that she didn't especially mind that woman she had met last night, Sakura. Surprisingly enough, she had spent most of the night drinking Sake with her. Sakura was nice, for a ninja, though a bit single minded. She had kept going on and on about a man named Sasuke, and also how romantic it was for there to be an arranged marriage between the two countries.

Setsuna guessed that the ninja was simply a hopeless romantic, as it seemed a lot of women were. But then again, most ninja did not act like that. Sakura seemed to be an exception to the rule. Still, that did not make Setsuna anymore happy with the situation was in.

"Well well well. What do we have here?"

Setsuna looked down from the sky to see three men in front of her. One was large and burly, full of muscles, with absolutely no hair to speak of. The second was a small, bent over man who immediately reminded her of a rat, down to the gray hair on his head and the thin whiskers on his face. The last, no doubt the ringleader of these men, was about average height, and his stark black hair and fine features would have made him quite handsome, if not for the fact that the expression on his face made him look as if a smelly pile of garbage was right underneath his nose. She was not at all startled to see that they all had Leaf Headbands on their heads.

"Go away," she told them simply.

"Aw," the rat man replied, "that's not very nice. Hee. Why don't you show us some manners? After all, we're hosting you people here."

"Naw. Word is that she's been rude to everyone," the burly one said in a voice like gravel.

"Is that true? Too bad. We were hoping you could show us some… gratitude for our hospitality."

Setsuna didn't give any reaction of anger towards the leader's words. She instead snorted, and muttered, "Funny, I don't remember you being at the greeting ceremony. You must have been too small next to the Hokage to be noticed."

"What?" snarled the leader. A flash of lightning cracked the sky in half and rain began to fall but none of them paid it any mind.

"Get lost, before I show you my real gratitude towards this village." Her voice was an even tone but the steeliness in her eyes made her threat obvious as water trickled down her stern face.

"Hee. You don't scare us. We're Chunin Ninja, and you're just one puny girl," the rat laughed. He grabbed at her arm, but she was faster as she snatched his wrist.

"Don't touch me," she scowled. She forced the man away with a punch to the face.

"Lousy bitch!" he squealed from the ground as she unsheathed her sword. It was pointed towards his throat and she was about to give them another warning that they needed to leave or else before a voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the leader and she eyed him angrily. "You wouldn't want us to go tell the Hokage that you were starting fights with ninja, would you? Just imagine what would happen to your little princess and Daimyou if we showed up with the slash wounds you so obviously want to give us. And whom do you think she'd believe? Us, loyal ninja, or a bitchy samurai?"

After a moment she dropped her sword in surrender. Strong arms grabbed both of hers and she was swiveled around. She could tell it was the giant and she cursed herself for not keeping a better eye on him. The small rat ninja had scurried up to a standing position as the leader donned a pair of brass knuckles and shoved a fist into her gut. The force of it made her stumble slightly, and when her knees were kicked out from underneath her feet she found herself kneeling in front of the leader. Her sword lay pathetic on the ground, and the leader kicked it in mirth.

"Well, this is something slightly better. A samurai kneeling to a ninja. Hee. Now who saw that coming?"

Setsuna's matted hair didn't hide her expression of contempt she held for these three men. Her glare did little but make them laugh though. What could she do? All four of them knew perfectly well that if she injured or even killed one of them then it would be the end of the treaty between the Konohagakure and the Land of the Meadows. Besides, what could they hurt besides her already torn pride?

"Well, girls always look prettier in a little red. Too bad for you it'll be in blood."

"Too bad for you it'll be yours."

The leader tried to look around to see who was talking but the giant dog that had suddenly bit one of his arms somewhat distracted him. Setsuna heard the bone crack as easily as a child could snap a thin branch. That is, with a mostly clean break with a little twisting to finish it off.

The leader screamed and Kiba coolly grabbed his mouth to silence him from on top of Akamaru.

"Tell your goons to get off of her, and then report to the Meds. If you so much as breathe a word to the Hokage about that woman doing this, then next time I'll let Akamaru get nasty."

The broken man nodded like a whipped puppy and Setsuna soon found herself let go of. The three fled from Kiba's wrath as she shakily stood. He…had helped her.

"Jeez, and here I thought I wouldn't need to step in. Scumbags, not only do they go three-on-one but the also have to make threats so you won't fight back? That's just pathetic."

"You didn't need to do that," Setsuna interceded. Kiba gave her a look. "But you did anyways. It's true. I would have survived that encounter, I'm sure, but not without excessive harm. Thank you."

"Uh, your welcome," Kiba supplied. "Are you okay?" he asked as he saw her wince as she bent over to pick up her katana.

"I'm fine," she answered.

Kiba suddenly jumped off of Akamaru and grabbed both of her wrists, lifting them skyward to see her stomach was tinted red in soaked up blood.

"Let me go," she snapped at him and pulled away.

"How did he do that by just punching you?" he asked. Akamaru whined softly at Setsuna who attempted to wave the dog away.

"None of your business."

He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Let me take you home," he said.

"Why should- Hey! What are you doing?"

"Keep it down," he told her after he had picked her up bridal style. He sat her down on Akamaru and then climbed on himself. He didn't touch her as they rode back to the academy, and Setsuna refused to look at him.

"I was perfectly fine to walk back," she told him.

"Yeah, whatever. Look, I'm not running the risk of you being jumped again. You're not the most social person," he replied.

"You make it sound as if I personal insulted every person in this village to their face," she retorted dryly.

"No, well not personally. But we all saw you scowling at the ceremony."

"You couldn't possibly understand."

"Why are you bleeding? That guy was a hell of a lot less skilled than you were; they all were. I could tell just by watching you four, you could have taken them. You held back on purpose, which I suppose I can understand why, but that jerk couldn't have possibly hit you hard enough with a blunt weapon to make you bleed."

Setsuna didn't give any inclination that she even cared about his sudden change of conversation. Instead she just shrugged.

"I've been a samurai for over two-thirds of my life," she said. "I was younger than ten when I started to protect Lady Zenkon. You think it's so strange that I not have an old wound on my stomach? That kind of thing can be torn into easily, even after a long time. But believe me, I'm fine."

"Oh really?" he asked as he poked her stomach.

A hand reached out to clutch at the aggravated wound and Setsuna clenched her eyes shut from the pain.

"Forget it," she objected. "Stop. I can walk the rest of the way."

"And get your injury infected by walking around in the rain. Not to mention the fact that you could collapse from blood loss because you're bleeding heavily enough to seep through a trench coat," he contemplated sarcastically.

"I said-" she argued before a finger poked her again.

"You think for just once, you can just be reasonable?"

The samurai grumbled, but did not argue the point any further.

---------

"I'm sure that you'll be fine," Sakura smiled down at Setsuna as she finished bandaging her stomach. "It was just torn into, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. As long as you don't aggravate it too badly, it should be okay."

"Thanks," she replied as she slipped her shirt back on from on top of her bed. She already knew all of this. It was nothing she hadn't heard before.

"Um," Sakura said, "if it's not to much to ask, where did you get such a bad injury? It doesn't look fresh but I can tell it's been torn into… several times."

Setsuna sighed. "Kiba asked you to say something, right?"

Sakura looked guilty for a moment before chuckling. "Yeah, he did."

'Why's he so interested all of a sudden?' she thought before sighing again. "I got it a couple of years ago when I was seventeen. The Zenkon family was celebrating Lady Zenkon's fourteenth birthday. There was an attack that night on the family. I received the wound when it happened. It's never healed properly because… I was the last surviving member of my family after the attack. I was the only one left to protect them, I could never give myself the time needed to heal."

"Oh," Sakura said as she looked away. "I'm sorry."

Setsuna shook her head. "Don't be. It's in the past." She looked around Sakura's bedroom. So nice, so cozy. She never thought she could be comfortable in a ninja's home, but this was much better than the Hokage's mansion. She suddenly felt grateful to Kiba for taking her to Sakura at the last moment instead.

'And such a skilled Med-Nin. I barely even felt the stitches,' she thought. "I suppose I should be going back to Kiba now."

Sakura nodded. "I'll get him."

"No," the samurai replied as she stood and walked in the living room. "I can move on my own. Thank you."

"Ready?" Kiba asked. The door was slightly ajar behind him, as if he had just walked in.

Setsuna looked at the floor. She suddenly felt very angry with Kiba and she didn't even know why. He had helped her. Taken her to be patched up, had even taken her to a person that would not talk about it to other people. He had rescued her from those men.

And she was angry in spite of all of those things, not despite them. He had done them even with her protesting, as if she had been too helpless to take care of it herself.

'I didn't need his help. He's acting too much like him,' she thought before she found Kiba was in front of her and waving his hand in front of her face.

"You okay?" he asked.

Setsuna looked away. She didn't want to see him right now. "The rain's stopped so I'm walking back. **Don't **follow me."

She just waked past him in a brisk pace. She didn't see his expression, but she didn't want to. As the door shut behind her she heard Akamaru whining at her. She looked down at him, since Sakura had asked for the big, furry dog to wait outside instead of pacing around the living room with all of her breakable things.

"Sorry boy," she found herself saying, and she didn't even know why.

---------

I really loved doing this chapter. I was so happy to break Setsuna out of the anti-social thing she originally had. It's a small change, but it's still there. I was originally going to have her friendship bloom between Hinata instead of Sakura, but I liked this idea a lot better. Sakura was just plain easier to write for the whole "I'm just going to approach you and decided to start being nice to you for no reason other than the fact that I want to" thing more than Hinata would. That, and I didn't want it completely focused on Team 8. There are other characters in this anime and I will use them.

Anyway, please review so I know how I'm doing.


	4. Being Alone

Wee, forth chapter in My Love for You. It's really progressing quickly, and that makes me happy. I don't own Naruto, Mashamishi Kishimoto does, and that make slightly less than happy. Ah well, I'll live.

Chapter 4: Being Alone

Kiba sat on the ground of Sakura's porch as he scratched Akamaru's head. The dog, while usually happy about having the attention, was instead barking softly at his master.

"I know boy," Kiba answered. "It was pretty dumb to try and help her. She's not even very grateful. I don't even know why I did it. Maybe we should go."

But just as he was standing to leave, he heard a door open in the house. Deciding to stay to at least see if he could offer to bring her home, he opened the front door and walked inside. After all, he'd been dumb enough to help her in the first place, why not finish the job?

"Ready?" he asked.

He wasn't surprised when she looked away from him. She seemed angry, but then again, she always did. But when her lip trembled slightly, as if she were ready to cry, he grew a little worried. He moved up to her and waved to get her attention but when she looked up again, she was just glaring. Had she even noticed she had looked upset for a moment? Or had his eyes just been playing tricks on him? Being good friends with Hinata, he was use to the need of having to be able to comfort women when they looked ready to break down, but maybe it also made him paranoid.

Her scathing comment about the fact that she was leaving and didn't want him following her seemed pretty normal so he shrugged and watched her go. Soft whining and a "Sorry boy," floated gently to his ears. Had he heard what he thought he had just heard? Why in the world was she apologizing to his dog?

"She must be cold," he heard Sakura comment.

"Tell me about it," he muttered.

"No," she replied as her turned to her. "I mean she forgot her coat. Guess she was pretty eager to leave."

"She's not too popular around here. But then, why would she be?"

"She's not so bad," the young woman responded.

"Hey, why'd she want to come here anyway?" Kiba asked.

"What? She had told me that you insisted on bringing her here."

"I mentioned you had med skills, but that was all really. She was the one that asked to see you instead."

Sakura smiled a little. "Well, what do you know?"

"Um, hello. Still in the room. What are you talking about?"

"She's nicer than what I thought. You should try being kinder to her. I mean, she was nice to me and I only gave her sake and talked to her for a while. Anyway, do you think you could take her coat to her?"

Kiba was completely confused by her horrible explanation. He shook his head, as if trying to get the jumbled words out of his head.

"Sorry, I can't. I need to meet Hinata at her house for training. Hell, I'm already running late from this waste of time. See ya later."

Sakura watched Kiba leave and huffed. Men were so stupid sometimes. He couldn't even see how much he liked her.

"Hmm, maybe the guy just needs a nudge in the right direction. Wonder what Ino's doing? I might be able to get Hinata in on it too."

Sakura smiled, a plan already forming in her mind on how to help her new, whether she liked it or not, samurai friend.

She looked around and saw the coat still lying on her bed. She went back to it and picked it up.

"Banished, huh? Well, I guess I can get it back to her tomorrow before my classes. That is, if she doesn't come back for it before then."

---------

Mori stood by the edge of the doorway of the Hokage's house, wringing her hands slightly. She wondered where Setsuna could possibly be.

"Where could she have disappeared off to? I should have realized that she'd be upset with me just leaving like that without her," she mused to herself. "Hmm, I'll have to make it up to her when she gets back."

The Princes didn't have much longer to wait before she saw a familiar figure coming up to the mansion. Mori smile and immediately began to run to her.

"Setsuna!" she cried as she waved. But her kimono hem seemed to have found a way underneath her foot and she started to fall towards the road.

"Lady Zenkon!" Setsuna gasped as she dove forward. She caught her charge effortlessly and helped her steady herself. "All you alright?"

Mori smiled. "Yes, thanks to you."

Setsuna smiled back. "I'm glad."

The princess quirked her head to one side quizzically. "What happened to your coat?" she asked.

"What?" Setsuna asked before she realized she was covered only in her shirt and pants. Her coat was gone. "Of course, I left it at Sakura's."

"Sakura?"

Setsuna shook her head immediately. She didn't want Mori to find out that she had needed to be patched up just a half hour ago because she had been foolish enough to get herself attacked.

"A new acquaintance, nothing more. I was simply in a hurry to get here. I'll fetch it later."

Mori nodded slowly and hesitated for a second before slipping both of her hands around her bodyguard's.

"Lady Zenkon?" Setsuna asked uncertainly.

"Hey Setsuna, what do you say to a game of Shoji?" she asked.

The samurai looked a little confused by Mori's request. They hadn't played Shoji against each other since when they were children. But though strangely out of the blue, Setsuna smiled at the prospect of spending some quiet time with the princess so she nodded.

"If you want to," she answered.

---------

Shoji wasn't much of a difficult game, but Mori was still terrible at it. Though a future leader, she hadn't much of a gift for strategy. Of course Setsuna was much better but she never tried very hard against her. Neither played to win, just to enjoy the time they could spend with one another. It brought back memories back to the princess. Memories of when the two had still been young, and uncaring about duties or conduct. It had all been play to them, even when they knew their duties and their place. They had been children at the time, and that's all that had mattered.

'I wonder how we let that change?' she thought as she watched Setsuna, sitting still at her side of the board.

"Lady Zenkon?" she asked suddenly as she studied the board. "What do you plan to do when you marry?"

"Oh, well going back home of course," Mori replied, slightly surprised at the sudden question. "That is the point of this after all."

The samurai shook her head. "No, I mean what do you think will become of…" She paused and instead asked, "Do you have any prospects for marriage?"

Mori shook her head. "Not yet. Father is still meeting with some Head's of Houses. He's told me that there are quite a few good prospects but I haven't met any of them yet. I wonder what kind of man it will be."

"No doubt it will be someone powerful. The Daimyo is wise, I'm sure he'll pick a good leader," Setsuna answered, never looking up from the board.

"I just hope it's someone I can get along with," Mori sighed but the samurai caught it anyways.

"Are you worried?"

Setsuna still hadn't looked up, but the princess could tell her face was indifferent, as if she was trying to be unreadable. Mori wondered if she should say anything more. Worried? A little bit. Who wouldn't be? But probably not for the reason Setsuna might think. She wanted her people to be happy, but even she would like someone that could make her happy too. A stoic ninja would probably be hard to live with, even if he was strong for the country.

"I'll be fine. It's just the jitters I suppose," she finally said. "I would be happy if I marry somebody I could be friends with." She laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood. "If only you were a man, than I'd be set."

Setsuna's head shot up so fast it nearly scared Mori. The look on her face was of utter shock.

"Lady Zenkon, you shouldn't speak such things. I'm not nearly good enough for you, man or otherwise!"

"Don't say that," Mori retorted with a frown. "You may be a servant, but you are my friend, and who else should I spend my life with but a friend? You always look down on yourself, but there's no reason for it."

Setsuna just looked away before Mori, in a sudden bout of frustration, reached across the Shoji table and grabbed her.

"Why are you so stubborn? Why don't you ever look me in the eyes anymore? You act so distant and I always feel like I've done something wrong around you. I've tried so hard to be considerate, yet you keep holding me at arms length. What happened to the girl that use to be my friend?"

Setsuna had the decency to have a look of remorse, but pulled easily from the desperate princess' grasp. Picking up the pieces that had spilled from the board, she put them and the rest in their original positions.

"Lady Zenkon, I'm no longer the girl you use to be friends with. I'm sorry, but I'm not. All I can offer if the friendship of who I am now. And all that friendship can offer is a sword and the promise that I won't leave you if you don't want me to." She looked back up at the princess. "Please forgive me, but I can only grant you what I have."

Mori suddenly felt so ashamed of herself. Why had she suddenly snapped like that? It's true that she wanted more of what Setsuna use to be like when they were younger, but Mori also understood how the woman must still feel. It had just been too long since she had felt like the two of them had actually been close. Try as she might to act normal around her bodyguard, the wall of indifference and self-discipline that Setsuna had built around herself was keeping Mori away. There was not much interaction between the two anymore aside from the protector and the protected relationship.

'Two years ago, it changed everything for her,' she thought. 'I just wish I could help her feel better about it now.'

The silence was awkward for the two, but neither had the courage to say anything to the other. The comments they had both been holding back were finally out, though neither felt happy about it. Finally, Mori moved around the board and hugged her bodyguard. Setsuna didn't pull away, but the hug was not retuned. Still, she did not let go, griping tightly, as if trying to keep Setsuna from drifting farther away than she had already. Even when her eyelids grew heavy and she felt sleep beckoning her, she refused to give up on holding tightly to her friend.

---------

"_You betrayed us."_

"_Father! Please!"_

"_No… I never meant to…"_

"_Father, don't do this!"_

"_You no longer deserve to be a part of this family."_

It was amazing what went through Setsuna's head as she watched over Mori as she slept. Memories that she had not thought of in a while. She had been keeping them at bay intentionally, having no wish for them to resurface. Telling herself that thinking of them had been pointless.

But what Mori had said had brought them back, and back with a vengeance. She believed that she could keep them to herself and it would hurt no one. But it was hurting Mori. She could now see the worry on the princess' face that she had refused to show before. But it wasn't Mori's fault. Setsuna was becoming distant out of guilt, not anger.

"It's all my fault your mother died," she silently confessed softly to the sleeping girl. "I was the reason they all died. If I only hadn't been so foolish."

Those words had never escaped her lips before. She had always refused to let them out. And even now, she seriously doubted that she would ever have the courage to say it to the girl when she could hear them.

She brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen over Mori's face, who shifted slightly and smiled a little.

'I wonder what you're dreaming of,' she pondered. 'Me, or of the future you'll have when you marry?'

Lightning flashed, visible barely through the spaces between the shutters of the closed windows. She could hear the start of the pattering of the rain against the walls and roof, becoming heavier by the second. It made her think unwanted thought. Of screams, blood and tears.

"Stop it," she scolded herself. She didn't want to think about this, it was too much. She had never forgiven herself for being unable to protect anyone that night, instead lying bleeding on the floor, cut down as easily as a puppet on strings would have been.

A tug at her sleeve drew her attention. Mori, though still asleep, was suddenly clutching at Setsuna tightly again. Mori, her only light, her reason to go on. She loved the girl, though she no longer would allow herself to say it.

"Come on," she said as she picked her up. It took a little bit of adjusting, but she was able to get Mori on her back, resting against her piggyback style. She carried her back to the princess' own room and rested her on her bed after pulling from the now weak grip.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as she brushed a few locks of Mori's hair away from her face. "I don't deserve to stay by your side, and nothing I could ever do would be able to redeem me. I'm sure you'll find out someday. And when you tell me to leave, I'll do as you wish. But for now, please just allow me to be greedy enough to stay with you. I just want what time I have left to be with you."

As Setsuna whispered her words Shino shook his head from where he was standing outside of the door. He had been asked to check up on Mori before he headed off for home, but he didn't think it was necessary. He wondered briefly what Setsuna meant by her words, but realized that it really wasn't any of his business and he had no urge to make it that way. Whatever was going on with the samurai was her own problem, and he was sure she wanted no one interfering with them.

"Good night Princess," he muttered before walking away.

---------

Well, here you guys go. I have to say that this is getting much easier to write. I'm really staring to get the feel for the characters, mine of course, writing cannon characters is always much easier than OCs because the canon characters are already established.

I think all the reviews I'm getting are wonderful too. It really helps when I know people like what I'm doing. Hint, hint.

Though I do have one question. It seems like Setsuna resembles someone in an (I'm assuming) anime called Negima. Has anyone seen this? Cause the title is foreign to me. Curiosity, I suppose.


	5. Why Him?

Happy to announce that the fifth chapter is now up. I'd like to thank everyone who left a review to chapter four. You're all great. This is the fixed version that my beta, Nando, kindly took care of for me, so here you go.

Okay, disclaimer. You know I don't own it. I know I don't own it. Let's just leave it at that.

Chapter 5: Why Him?

The sun seemed to glisten as it shone on the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The rain was still fresh on the buildings and trees of the village and made a scene that looked so clean and beautiful. Mori breathed in the fresh air after she swung her window open, wondering what she would be able to see today with Shino.

"I wonder if Setsuna would come too? I have to ask her," she said.

She made to turn to her door before a knock sounded and her father came in, accompanied by Shino. She smiled and bowed to the Daimyo, who did the same.

"Mori," he said proudly. "I'm happy to tell you that I've found you a husband. He's powerful, and from what I've heard, he's even eager to see our country. Would you like to meet him?"

If she was surprised, she did not show it. Instead she nodded and followed the two men out. So, she would finally meet whom she would spend her life with.

---------

Setsuna had been told of the announcement of Lady Zenkon's engagement, though she had decided not to attend the two meeting each other. There would be a ceremony later that day, to announce it to the Village and she would be at that, though she had no wish to be there now. There really didn't seem to be any reason to be present. The princess would face him alone, wanting to get to know him. She had no doubt that she'd just be in the way of that. So here she was, sitting upon the steps of Tsunade's house, watching the activity of the people passing by. Some were ninja, though a fair amount looked to be civilians. She wondered to herself if the Village that would be in her own country would be the same.

A child passed by with his mother and saw the samurai. He gave a wave. Setsuna slowly waved back before he walked on with his parent. He seemed overjoyed at the attention as he quickly pulled on the skirt of his mother.

'Everyone here is so happy,' she thought, looking down.

"Hey, watcha doing out here?"

Setsuna looked back up to see Sakura standing over her. She was smiling and holding Setsuna's trench coat under one arm.

"Hello Sakura," she greeted. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, I brought you your coat." At this she handed it to Setsuna.

She stood to pull it on, though didn't take the time to button it completely, only doing three or four at her waist. Sakura though she looked much better like that, showing off some of her body. She had looked much too rigid before.

"So I repeat, what are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. "Lady Zenkon is meeting her future husband right now, so I decided to just get some fresh air."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed. "Something like that is going on, and you're just standing around out here?"

"Why would I be there? No doubt Lady Zenkon has no use for me right now."

Sakura pffted. "You need to get a more romantic mindset. Don't you find things like that exciting at all?"

Setsuna shook her head. "I have no place in me for such trivial things."

'We'll see,' she thought. "Well, I do. Come on, show me. I want to see at least."

Setsuna sighed as Sakura gave her the best kicked-puppy look she could. "Fine, I'll take you."

---------

Mori's heart was pounding so hard it almost hurt. As many times as she had been told throughout her life that her marriage would be an arranged one, she was still anxious at the prospect of a life with a person when she knew nothing about his culture. Would she be able to understand him? Her apprehension had been building up ever since she had confided in Shino and now it seemed ready to burst. Would this be good enough for her country?

Shino looked back at her for a second and she found herself smiling. No, she was fine around Shino. She was sure she and her fiancé would be no different. In fact, Shino had always made her feel comfortable about this new culture with only a few words.

'I hope he's one of the ones coming to the new Village. It would be so great to have him around,' she thought to herself.

They had reached a doorway, and when it was opened she looked into the room. It was small, and only a few people were in it. No doubt as informal as possible, since the real declaration would be later on.

They walked in and Mori looked at the three people. One was Tsunade, standing with a hand on her hip and a woman with short black hair was standing next to her. The princess could tell they both looked a little displeased from the frowns on both of their faces, but the image only stayed on for a second. Had Mori just imagined that?

The third stood stock-still and was not looking at any of three that had entered. A scowl was on his face, as if there was a bad taste in his mouth. He glared up at her, and the look made her go numb with immediate dread. She didn't like him already, realizing her fears were coming true. She imagined sleeping next that man, talking with him, ruling a country with him. The images made her shiver.

"Princess Zenkon Mori," Tsunade started, "I would like you to meet your fiancé, Uchiha Sasuke."

"What?!"

The shocked yell caught everyone's attention and they turned to see Setsuna with Sakura by her side. The pink haired woman had a look of horror on her face and tears were beginning to brim in her eyes.

"Sakura," Setsuna began. She reached for the woman, but she shook her head slightly, turned and began to run.

"Who was that?" Mori asked softly.

"Haruno Sakura," the shorthaired woman answered. "She's-"

"She's in love with Sasuke," Setsuna interrupted angrily. She glared at the man she now knew was an Uchiha. She could hate people pretty easily. He looked a little surprised at Sakura's appearance, but she still held him in contempt for hurting her friend's feelings.

And without a second thought, without a moment of surprise upon the revelation that she thought of the ninja as a friend, she ran after Sakura.

---------

Sakura was sitting at a swing seat that was tied to a tree near the Ninja Academy when Setsuna came up to her. Her tears were gone, but her cheeks still looked wet and her eyes were red.

Setsuna did not ask if the girl was all right. It would have been a stupid question to ask, the answer obvious. Instead she just walked up to the young woman and knelt down in front of her, placing her hand on Sakura's. She said nothing, feeling nothing she could say would do any good, but she still conveyed the message that she was there for Sakura without words well enough.

"I'm so mad with myself," Sakura said. "I always knew in my heart Sasuke and I would end up together. But this came so out of the blue. I never even would have expected he would have been one of the ones that might become engaged to the princess."

"You two were together?" Setsuna asked. Arranged marriages often broke up couples that were in secret. Setsuna had seen it happen enough times.

"Not really," Sakura admitted as she shook her head. "But still… I love him so much. I was beginning to think that he was seeing that. I mean, I'm one of the few that doesn't hate him ever since he came back."

"Sakura, you shouldn't talk about things like that to a stranger to this Village."

Setsuna whipped her head around to see Sasuke standing there, looking at the two. She snarled and stood.

"Look, I don't care if you're Lady Zenkon's future husband, I-"

"Setsuna, stop," Sakura said weakly. "I appreciate it, but please just leave us alone."

The samurai snarled but nodded. With one last glare at Sasuke, she left, heading back to the Hokage's mansion.

"I never imagined you would be involved in something like this," Sakura said to Sasuke. She was still sitting on the children's swing, not thinking she would have been able to stand even if she had wanted to.

"I have to restore my clan Sakura. You know that. You've known that since we were put on the same team together." His explanation sounded so cold but Sakura thought could hear a touch of regret in his voice. Maybe she was trying to convince herself of that, but she didn't care.

"I know," she responded. "But I've always been here. And you… you know how much I love you."

"Sakura," he said with as sigh, as if he'd said this a thousand times before. "I care about you, I do. But it's the same way that I care for Naruto or Kakashi. You're someone I see as a teammate, not a lover or wife."

"Does that mean you love the princess?" she asked, fully aware of the bitterness in her voice.

"Of course not."

"But you'll still marry her?"

Sasuke looked down at the ground. "You know that ever since I came back that I've been hated. I've committed sins, and everyone in this Village knows it. No one wants me here anyway."

She understood what Sasuke was saying. He had come back, renounced his loyalty to Orochimaru, and done his best to show he wasn't going to betray the Village again. But the people here didn't forget easily, and forgiveness was even harder. While no one treated him hostilely, the glares he received and the stern tones in their voices he heard were probably enough. For one that had been treated with such high regard and given such praise, to suddenly be treated so harshly, it must be tougher on him than he let anyone see.

He must have wanted to escape it pretty badly.

'Just like Naruto,' she thought. 'Such hatred, no one could be immune to it.'

"Not everyone is like that," she said, if only to try and console him. "I don't hate you. Naruto tells everyone to leave you alone. Shino, Hinata, Lee, Ino, Iruka-sensei, every one of us understand."

But she could tell that her words weren't reaching him. He was withdrawing, both emotionally and physically. And she was losing him to a woman who he didn't even know.

"I refuse to apologize. I'm not sorry for doing this," he said.

Sakura clenched her fist and jumped towards him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her lips pressed against his. Her kiss was desperate and hard against him. All of her passion, her frustration, her pent up longing was packed into that one act. She wasn't going to give up. She had fought for him for years. She wasn't like any of the other girls that had followed him around when they had all been students and now looked at him as a traitor. No, she truly loved him, and had since childhood. She refused to give him away. No, she would fight for him as she always had. There were plenty of other men. The princess could have any of them, but Sasuke was who Sakura needed to be with.

Eventually Sasuke gently pushed Sakura away. It hadn't been done immediately and Sakura took some strength from that. Still, he walked away. But Sakura let him go, knowing when to act and when not to. She would not cling to him as she had when they were younger. She knew now that showing weakness like that wouldn't do anything. But she would not lose him easily either. Not until the ring was his finger and he was gone would she give in.

---------

Mori's head was buzzing when she headed back to her room. With that woman Sakura showing up with Setsuna, them both running off, and Sasuke not long after, she didn't know what to think about the situation. Her father had been less than pleased about the whole display, and she had excused herself before anything else happened. Her head was already beginning to throb.

'And that man,' she thought as she hugged herself. 'Is he really the one Father thought I should marry? Maybe I'm just nervous about this whole situation, but I…'

"I don't want to do this," she whispered.

"Then don't do it," Shino said from behind her.

Mori eeped before turning around.

"Shino, you scared me," she said, happy to see him. "And here I thought I was by myself."

"You don't want to marry Sasuke, do you?" Shino asked.

She paused, not understanding his sudden interest.

"I will. It's my duty," she said. "After all-"

"But do you want to?" he cut her off.

"Well… no," She answered, lowering her gaze. "But it's not as if I have any choice. I'm sure he's the best candidate if Father picked him"

"Would you run away with me?"

Mori gasped and looked up at the suggestion. But while it had been in Shino's voice, Shino was not the one standing there. A woman with white hair, in a purple kimono that had its sleeves torn off, black fingerless gloves, and a wakizashi on her hip was there instead, smirking in a way that was very threatening.

"Sorry, just kidding," she said in a snide voice before shoving a fist into Mori's stomach.

The princess fell quickly and the mysterious woman caught her.

"Don't worry," she said to the already unaware princess. "You're not dying until the ninja finds you. We'll be pinning it on him, so you'll have time to make peace with the gods."

---------

Kiba was walking to the central square with Akamaru at his heels in the early afternoon when he heard the buzz. It seemed the rumor was spreading that the announcement of whom Zenkon Mori would be marrying would be happening today. He imagined another party like the one that had occurred a couple nights ago. He decided immediately to invite Hinata and Naruto to come with him. Maybe this would be the night where she finally confessed.

Getting the two together had been something that Kiba had wanted to do for years. Hinata had been actually been named Head of the Hyuga House, or at least the official heiress. She would not be Head until her father was either dead or too feeble to act as the leader. But as Head, she had the right to choose her own husband, as long as the elders couldn't prove that he would not be of acceptable strength to help carry on the Hyuga blood.

Well, no one could deny that Naruto was in fact strong. He was already one of the strongest Jonin in the Village and some even thought he would soon reach ANBU level. Though there was still hatred for him in most of the Village, no one dared call him weak any longer. Kiba was sure the man would even fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage someday.

Though the moron was still oblivious as ever and Hinata was barely able to act normal around him, much less drop hints or tell him the truth. He hoped by forcing them together as often as he did, it might help Hinata get over her shy nature, or at least get Naruto to like Hinata enough to initiate it himself. Kiba figured he could just tell Naruto himself, but the respect and feelings of friendship he had for his former teammate always held his tongue when he felt the need to spill the beans. Hinata would probably hate it if she never gathered the courage to tell him. It was something she wanted to do herself, no matter how it terrified her. And he knew the fruits of his labor would pay off soon enough. Hinata was getting better around Naruto, if only by small amounts.

"Maybe I'll slip off to leave them alone for a little while," he muttered wickedly before someone slammed into him from behind.

"Watch it!" he yelled as he spun around before he saw Setsuna, a terrified expression in her eyes, looking at him.

"Setsuna?" he asked before she just shoved him aside and ran past him, not even seeming to notice who he was. "What the hell?"

A note fluttered to the ground, and he picked it up in interest. It looked as if it had been crushed as he unfolded it.

**We've taken the princess. Come to the forest in the north of this Village if you wish to see her alive one last time.**

"Shit," he snarled before bounding after her.

----------

I was surprised to see how much I had written so quickly. All the scenes seemed so short writing them, yet when I looked to see how many pages I had written I was shocked to see I had done so much. I thought to continue this chapter and make it longer, but decided against it.

I've been having so much fun with Mori and Setsuna. The two are developing past the two dimensional personalities that they had before when this stated. Setsuna is starting to actually give a damn about more than just Mori. She's tough but I love her anyway. And the sweet little princess is starting to get more involved in what she wants instead of just been led everywhere.

Development is good, yes yes.

By the way, any Sasuke fans out there; I'd like it if you would let me know if you want me to pair Sasuke and Sakura together in the fic. It may side track a little from the story, but I've always loved the doing bonus stuff. Don't think it's a big spoiler to know that he's not ending up with Mori.


	6. Rescue

Hello loyal readers. As I'm sure you know, this is the sixth chapter to My Love for You. And as I'm sure you know, I don't own Naruto. If I did, I would have given Garaa a damn last name.

As I've said more times than I care to count, I really appreciate Nando betaing this for me. Now to the part you readers actually care about.

Chapter 6: Rescue

Kiba reached Setsuna pretty easily at the edge of the forest. While she was going as fast as she could, she didn't know the area like he did and really had no idea what to do instead of just go north. He grabbed her from behind and wheeled her around barely avoiding a blow to the face.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped before realizing who it was. "Kiba, not now!"

"I'm coming with you," he said quickly, refusing to let go of her, which she was making very difficult in reality. "Look, I know this place better than you. Hell, you don't know it at all. And Akamaru and I could probably track her with better luck too."

"Do as you like!" she barked as she pulled from away from him. "You think I care about you right now?"

"One would think you wouldn't," Shino replied from up ahead barely ten feet from them. How he had gotten there first was anyone's guess. "The Hokage is sending more ninja to save Mori as we speak, but we're here first. I suggest we hurry."

"Right," Kiba nodded and turned to Akamaru. "Boy, can you find her scent?"

The dog yelped in affirmative and bounded off, the three following closely behind.

Kiba looked over to Setsuna as they ran. She looked terrified. It was one of the few expressions he saw on her face besides fury. And he didn't have to wonder why. As angry as she always seemed with the Village and the ninja in it, he could tell from the first time she had ever yelled at him that Mori meant the world to her. He didn't want to think about how she would react if they didn't make it time.

'Hurry Akamaru,' he silently urged his canine.

The dog suddenly skidded to a stop, forcing the three to do so as well. Akamaru was growling into the trees and Kiba slowly walked up to him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Someone's there," Setsuna said. She pushed her katana out an inch with her thumb and stood ready to fight.

"So eager to pull the blade. A mark of a true samurai," a voice called out. It came from a male emerging form the woods. Light of the late morning that escaped from between the overhead braches showed a medium height fifteen-year-old boy. Wavy brown hair topped his head and he was dressed in a black mesh shirt, black vest, and red pants. A katana with a red handle was being held in both of his hands, and he looked more than ready to use it.

"A samurai?" Setsuna asked.

"Correct. So, will you be the one to fight me, Lady Setsuna?"

Kiba gave her a curious look. Did she know this little whelp? But her face showed no recognition, only the regular glare she always seemed to have.

"Where's Lady Zenkon?" she asked.

"Further in the forest, past me. Honestly, we were expecting you to take longer than you did," he responded. "You have a good tracker with you, even if he is a lowly ninja."

"Look brat," Kiba snapped, "whatever you got going on, it ain't going to work. So why don't you get out the way like a good little boy?"

The boy shook his head. "No. I've been ordered to keep one of you here. The rest may pass though."

"Just one?" Setsuna asked. "Why?"

"Obviously to thin our numbers," Shino answered. "We have no idea what's ahead, but we can't all stop to fight him."  
"Fine," Setsuna said. "If you want to fight me, than you'll get your wish."

"Forget that," Kiba argued. "I'll stay. Little punk shouldn't be a problem. I'll catch up. Akamaru, you go ahead with the others. Lead them to Mori, alright?"

The dog whined slightly, unhappy about being split from its master, but then began to bound off again, closely followed by Shino.

Setsuna frowned, looking at Kiba. "Don't you dare die," she said to him after a moment of hesitation. She then bounded off with Shino and Akamaru.

"So brat, you got a name?" Kiba asked, cracking his knuckles in his palms.

"Hosaki," he answered. "I'm disappointed. I was hoping to fight Lady Setsuna."

"And why the hell is that?" Kiba snapped.

Hosaki raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know. Hmm, how odd. I was told she was so trusting of you people."

"What are you talking about?"

"Defeat me, and find out," he challenged.

"With pleasure," Kiba said, forming a few hand seals. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry! Down on all Fours Technique!"

He leaned over on his palms, in a position that would have been uncomfortable to most humans, and charged at Hosaki. He brought his blade down to slice though him, but his blade met the dirt of the forest floor.

"Behind you," he mocked before slamming a fist into the back of the boy's head and sending him flying. He crashed several feet away.

He stood and shook his head to clear it from the dirt now on his face. "What speed, and pure strength too. You'll be a worthy opponent after all."

"Heh, say that when you're not spitting up earth," Kiba snorted.

Hosaki shook his head. "You have no idea about anything, do you? My power, the power of Lady Setsuna, or anything of her past. Boast… after you can keep me from getting up again."

The boy charged, with speed much faster than what he had used before. Kiba was faster, but unfortunately the boy, though smaller and with a shorter body, had better reach than him by a good foot or two because of his sword. It was going to make dodging him tricky, not to mention getting in to get a good hit in.

"Crap," he muttered after several minutes of the two fighting. Hosaki didn't seem to be slowing down, no matter how many times he would punch or kick the boy. His blows were quick but seemed to lack any real power. But any time he got close enough to try any real damage he found a blade greeting him. He had been able to get from out of the sword's way so far but he didn't think he should really push his luck by too much.

'And that brat is acting like he's not even getting tired.'

"Tell me, what does Lady Setsuna mean to you?" the boy asked, still looking plenty ready to fight, despite the bruises that were forming.

"What?"

"Why are you fighting me? You could just as easily be in your Village right now, completely ignoring the situation. Yet here you are, crossing my blade. We both know that this isn't your mission, and your not getting paid for it. So, that only leaves the possibility that you're here for Lady Setsuna. So tell me. Why?"

Hosaki was watching him intently, as if expecting Kiba to do a trick.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. All I know is that I'm here because I want to be!"

'I talk big,' Kiba thought. 'But I have to hurry this up. The others could be dealing with something even tougher than this. But going all out could be a problem if there are other enemies along the way as well. I need to conserve my power. If I could just distract him somehow. Otherwise I'll just have to wait for him to wear himself out, and that looks like it could take a while.'

---------

When the world finally came back into focus for Mori, her eyes snapped open in the sudden flash of memory. She looked around frantically trying to see where she was and saw nothing but deep forest. Her eyes eventually rested on a woman.

It was the same woman whom Mori had seen from before and she was still smirking in such a way that made Mori feel very uncomfortable. Sitting cross-legged in front of Mori on an uprooted branch of a huge oak tree, she was resting her chin in her hand and was bending over and staring at Mori like a hawk staring at a mouse.

"Awake now, are we?" she asked.

Mori would have answered, but the gag tied to her mouth kept her from responding. Her arms and legs were tied as well. Both were bound behind her and knotted together, to completely cut her off any movement she might have had. She shivered in fear of what might happen to her.

"Well, it's only a matter of time now I suppose," she said as she looked up at the sky. "I'd offer to knock you out again, so you could sleep though the pain, but I think you need to stay awake. You won't have much longer to contemplate your sins. But I'll let you talk."

She unsheathed her weapon and without a glance at the princess, she sliced away at the cloth tied around her face.

"So," she asked the terrified princess, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," she said slowly. "Just who are you? And what do you want with me?"

The woman sneered. "You act so damn innocent, but you're fully aware of what I'm talking about. You're the instrument that's being used to strip us away from the land we fought and died for for years. With your marriage the samurai will be forgotten and replace by ninjas, honorless dogs and slaves to whoever can pay the highest bid. And why, because instead of your father showing grief for the loss of your mother, instead he saw an opportunity for profit."

"That's not true!" Mori objected angrily. "My father loved my mother very much! We were all in pain when she was gone!"

"I'm sure," she replied.

"Besides," the princess continued, now upset about the scathing comments about her parents, "you used a ninja skill in order to kidnap me. What does that say about you?"

A sharp sting erupted on her cheek as her head whipped to the left. The woman, now standing, scowled and slowly lowered her hand.

"If you ever say anything like that again I will slit your throat, orders be damned. Do you understand?"

Mori said nothing. Instead she nodded. Her anger had quickly been extinguished by the wrath of the other woman and she wasn't eager to call her bluff. Fear was clouding her mind, keeping her from being sensible. She had no idea what was going on, only that she was in danger.

'And it's because of my marriage,' she thought. 'She's a samurai that doesn't want it to happen.'

---------

'I hope he's not hurt.'

Shino was surprised when Setsuna suddenly stopped running, but not as much as she was.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Do…do you think Kiba is…okay?" she asked, a little bewildered by her own concern. Why did she care?

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a Jonin and not at all easy to take down," he assured her.

A small throb in Setsuna's stomach made her wince. She was pushing herself so hard. At this rate she was going to open it up again. But that wasn't her real concern. She'd do anything to save Mori. Her wounds were not a factor. No, the pain reminded her of how it had recently been reopened, and who had saved her.

"I'm going back," she stated unexpectedly.

"What?" Shino asked.

Setsuna clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to leave Kiba behind. The thought that he might get hurt had emerged in her mind so quickly and suddenly that it would not let go. But Mori needed help too.

'I don't understand,' she thought. 'Haven't I learned anything from two years ago?'

"Shino, please go ahead and save Lady Zenkon. I know I can trust you with her." She turned back the way they had been coming from. "I'm going to go help Kiba."

"Fine. But you should know she's close. Don't take too long," he responded before suddenly leaping into the branches of the trees, along with Akamaru.

Setsuna sighed. If Shino was able to move through the trees like that then he should have done so from the beginning. He had slowed himself down for her sake. Leady Setsuna's protection should have been the concern. Then again, she was heading back to save a man she hated instead of her charge. She really had no room to criticize.

"Pure insanity," she muttered before heading back as fast as possible.

---------

"Hold still!" Kiba yelled as the two warriors zigged and zagged around each other. "Shit! This is getting annoying!"

Hosaki regarded his opponent. Kiba was pleased that the boy was starting to pant slightly but it wasn't doing him much good since he was getting worn down as well. He'd long since lost track of time, or how far ahead the others might be. The kid wouldn't have lasted if Kiba had been with Akamaru but his dog had been the only other way to try and find Mori. As he was, Kiba liked fighting in a team better than he did by himself. And the technique he was planning really was better with his partner.

"Screw it," He muttered. "It's the only way that I can end this quickly."

"Art of Beast Mimicry! Ultimate Taijustu! Fang Over Fang!" he shouted as he rushed at Hosaki in a blur.

Hosaki's eyes widened as Kiba came at him with speed that shouldn't have even been human. Realizing that slicing through him would not be an option since the man moved more like a cyclone than a human, he had to try and get out of the way. But Kiba was faster from the beginning and now he was giving it his all.

"Got you!"

Kiba plunged in and hit the younger man with full force.

He stopped his technique and looked behind him, expecting the boy to be down for the count from just being slammed into and knocked down but Hosaki simply lifted himself up and with an angry glare, struck out with his blade.

"What?" Kiba asked incredulously, too stunned from the fact that even hitting with full force seemed to have no effect to get out of the way, before a sword slashed into his shoulder. "AAAARRGGG!"

"This is the end," Hosaki commented as the dog ninja stumbled back and fell on his backside, clutching at his bleeding shoulder with his left hand. "Even at your strongest, you can't slow me down. I've trained for years, learning to ignore pain, becoming numb to it. After what I've put myself through, you really think I would be able to feel your blows?"

"Oh, well I was kinda hoping," Kiba growled. "You brag a little too much about it though. God, you're annoying. And I though Setsuna was a pain in the ass."

"You bring her up in your last moments of life?" Hosaki asked. "You still know nothing. I said I would only tell you if you could defeat me, but maybe I could let you in on the facts before you die."

Kiba narrowed his eyes. Just where the hell was this going?

"Lady Setsuna was, and still is, regarded as one of the most respected samurai in the Land of the Meadows. She was the only surviving member the Gisei Clan after a massacre against the Zenkons two years ago. Her entire clan died to protect the Zenkon family when they had been attacked, but Lady Setsuna survived, even though the rest of her family wasn't strong enough to. Even before, she was regarded with respect because of her family and because of her unmatched skill with a blade, and the respect only increased as now she single handily protects the Zenkon family from threats. She fights for the family and only for the family."

Hosaki paused to resituate his sword. Kiba eyed him; ready to jump when the brat let his guard down.

"At least, that's what is widely believed. Truth is, Lady Setsuna betrayed us." Hosaki shook his head. "You see, she gave up everything in order to fall in love."

"What?" Kiba gasped, unbelievingly.

"Yes. There was a man in her life that she would do anything for, a man that ended up slaughtering part of the Zenkon family, including Lady Mori's mother. A ninja." He lifted his katana high in the air and quickly began to bring it down. "And now it seems she is going to betray us again for you people!"

"You're the last one who should be talking about betrayal to the Zenkon family," Setsuna growled. She was standing behind Hosaki, who had three inched of steel protruding from his stomach. "Only a fool would make it so he can't feel pain. Than again, would it make a difference if you'd been able to feel it go in? At least it would have let you notice me. As for _my_ betrayal, you've hurt the man I owe a debt, ninja or no. So now, I'm going to make you pay."

Hosaki looked down at the blade and Kiba saw the look of disbelief on his face. The boy could not feel the katana, but he saw it. Saw the blood it was spilling and how serious the wound must be. Though it had probably been what gotten him killed, Kiba didn't think that he would want to be able to feel that.

"You were wide open. Never let a weakness let you think you have strength," she commented before her katana was slashed out sideways through a shocked Hosaki. She stepped over him after the dead boy crumpled to the ground and sheathed her sword.

She looked at Kiba and her face softened immediately in concern. "You said you'd be fine," she said as she knelt besides him. She reached for him. "Here, let me-"

"Setsuna?" Kiba asked. "Was what that guy said true, about you being in love with a ninja?"

"I'm not answering to you," she responded, withdrawing her hand, immediately back into her feelings of anger towards Kiba. "Lady Zenkon is waiting. I have to help her."

Kiba looked surprised. "You haven't saved her yet? Then what are you doing here?"

She didn't meet his gaze. "I would have never forgiven myself if I didn't pay you back for helping me." She paused. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," he said despite the flashes on pain he was experiencing.

"You're lying," she commented, eyeing his shoulder.

"It's not a deep wound."

Setsuna sighed and stripped off her trench coat, grabbed one of her sleeves of her shirt at the shoulder, and with a loud rip tore it off. She tossed it to Kiba, who snatched it midair.

"I'm not in the habit of carrying bandages but I can't have you bleeding everywhere. Come on, we should go," she said, standing and shrugging her coat back on.

He stood as well, after tying the sleeve around his wound using one hand and his teeth. She was walking away already, acting as if his welfare meant nothing to her. But he had seen the look of rage in her face when she had seen him hurt, and the anger in which had allowed her to kill and leave the other samurai like it was nothing.

And despite the fact that she had seen her anger frequently, seeing that look on her face had made him feel very strange.

---------

Aha! Know you all know why Setsuna is so screwed up. Well, at least a part of the story. More will be revealed later on. Maybe not in the next chapter, but the one after that at the latest.

Next up, Shino is totally gonna kick that kidnapping bitch's ass. Oh, like that was a spoiler. You knew it'd happen.

Review please. I really like to know what people are thinking.


	7. Rescue prt 2

I'd just like to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed this. You are all great and I'm so happy that you've been showing your support as you've had.

This is finally going to start getting some romance between Shino and Mori in it I'm happy to say. But I'm still not sure whether I should make Kiba and Setsuna a couple. If you wouldn't mind reviewing and letting me know what you'd like to see, I'd really appreciate it. It won't affect the story line, just how well the two will start to get along. Still, even if they do get together, it may not be for a while off.

I still don't own Naruto, but I feel the need to keep you posted.

Chapter 7: Rescue prt. 2

Mori watched the woman who had kidnapped her, trying to keep calm. The woman was not paying much attention, but instead watching the sky, or more specifically, the sun. Maybe trying to keep track of the time. She was scowling, and Mori wondered what she was waiting for. Was the she to die at a certain time, or was there something else that was in store for her?

She hoped that whatever was suppose to happen wouldn't happen soon. The longer this woman waited, the more likely someone would come for Mori, or at least she hoped so. She had no idea where Setsuna was, and how could her bodyguard have even known she had been kidnapped? She had just went off by herself to her room, without anyone with her, and judging from the position of the sun, it had not been long ago. Even if someone had realized that she had gone missing, would Setsuna just assume she had gone to see the Village with Shino again?

The sudden thought of the male ninja made Mori think about how she had been so easily grabbed. What he had said, it had been so unexpected, so out of character. It hadn't really been him, which had explained it. But it had still shaken up Mori, and though it was the worst possible time to think about it, she could not stop the feelings that were beginning to spring up in her heart. Feelings of confusion, mystification, and …warmth. She was being faced with death, and yet the thought of him comforted her.

'Is this the real reason why I don't want to marry Sasuke?' she thought. 'Is it because I feel so strongly for Shino? Is it possible that I might…love him?'

Mori had always thought that she would marry a samurai or a lord of some kind. She had been worried when her father had informed her of his plan to create a new Ninja Village. Worried that she would become engaged to a man that would not be accepted by her people, and in her opinion, she had been right. Even her country of samurai had heard talk of the famous Uchiha Clan that had fallen, it's last two surviving members turning rouge. The eldest had apparently died and Sasuke had returned. Still, she didn't think her people would accept him. He was sullen and cold, she could tell just from the way he had glared at her, as if she had been the one bothering him. And it had only been from one meeting.

But Shino was different. He was withdrawn, but not enclosed. When she reached out to him, he would reach back, not slap her hand away. He was kind to her, in his own way. He was slightly odd, but had an attraction about him that made her want to be near. Surely if he acted that way to her, her people would not be treated any differently by him? Would he be able to introduce the way of the ninja without destroying the samurai or angering them either?

She bowed her head. Her thoughts seemed so foolish. She was promised to Sasuke. What would this line of thinking do but make things all that more difficult? Was she just presuming too much? What said that he would be a good ruler just because she thought of him so greatly? What proof was there that Sasuke could not fill the role? Could it be possible that she was just acting on what she wanted? A friend, or maybe something more?

"Damn it."

The softly muttered curse brought Mori back from her thoughts and she looked back up at her captor. She was even more agitated than before, now standing and tapping her foot impatiently.

"How long am I going to have to wait her with this brat?" she asked herself, as if Mori could not even hear her. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"What are you going to do to me?" Mori asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Isn't it obvious?" she snapped back, answering the princess' question. "Once you're disposed of, there won't be a single thing that moronic Daimyo will be able to do to get a Village going. These people are so consumed by greed that they'll only do something if they can get something out of it. If he has nothing to offer, then we don't have a problem."

"You're wrong," Mori said softly. "These people aren't moved by greed. They're kind."

The woman turned to fully look upon Mori, a cold look on her face.

"You naive or stupid. How long have you been here? How many people here have you met? And those that you have met, how many were just interested in getting your hand in marriage? You claim to want what's best, yet what are you doing but going along with the tide? You're caught in it, and your not even trying to swim. But in the end, we'll be the ones drowning."

"I do want what's best," she whispered back.

The woman's eyebrow rose. "Really? Is that true?" She paused as she pulled out her wakizashi, leaned over in front of Mori, and placed the tip of the blade under the princess' chin. She forced her to lift her head past what was comfortable to avoid getting cut. "Than why don't I help you accomplish what will help everyone in the long run?"

Mori regarded the woman that had grabbed her and shook her head slowly.

"I would happily give my life for my people," she whispered. The woman smirked, a look of triumph on her face before Mori glared at her. "But I'd never give my life for your selfish desires. You're not concerned with our country, but your own comfort."

The woman snarled as she straightened.

"That's it! Screw waiting to frame Sasuke! I'm going to kill you now, and shut your bratty mouth for good!"

Mori's eyes clenched shut, bracing for the contact of the short sword that would steal her life. But instead she heard metal clang against metal. Burgundy eyes snapped open to see Shino standing over her, a kunai knife in hand, pressed against the wakizashi and holding the woman back.

"Akamaru, take care of her," he said quickly before kicking the woman in the stomach, knocking her back several feet.

"Great, what the hell are you doing here?" the woman snarled as she gained her footing.

"Protecting this girl is my mission. I'm not about to let you hurt her," he replied.

"Shino," Mori breathed. She looked behind her as she felt her bounds being loosened and she saw Akamaru quickly chewing through the ropes. She looked back to see Shino giving all of his attention to his foe.

"I am from the Aburame Clan, wielder of the Kikaichu insects. I'll give you one warning and that's all. If you don't surrender now, you will be defeated and killed. Do you understand?" he warned.

"Are you done yet?" his opponent asked with a fake yawn. Her weapon swished lightly, flicking in the air, in a nonchalant way. Her expression had changed from anger to assurance so quickly, it seemed like another person was now there.

"Very well," he replied.

He jumped at her, aiming a punch to her face. Ducking, she slashed out with her wakizashi and barely missed his hood as he ducked and swung a leg under her feet. She jumped away with ease, and brought up her hand to catch the kunai that he had sent flying at her.

"Is this the extent of your skill?" she asked with a snort.

"No," he answered. He lifted his arms slowly and Mori's eyes widened as hundreds of insects began to crawl from out under the sleeves. They flew in a swarm around him and gave off a low buzzing noise that sounded very intimidating.

"What the hell?" the samurai asked.

"As I said before," Shino explained, "I wield an insect called Kikaichu. Insects never underestimate an opponent, and neither do I. You'll be facing my full strength."

"You expect me to be scared of some stupid insects?" the woman sneered. "You're going to die if you don't stop being such an idiot."

"Than why are you hesitating?" he asked calmly.

"Shino!" Mori suddenly yelled out from where she was still kneeling. "She can use ninjustu! Please be careful!"

"Shut up, both of you!" she yelled before rushing him. He raised his arms and the Kikaichu burst forth and surrounded her until she disappeared in a puff of smoke that revealed a log. He spun around and threw several shuriken and kunai knives to his left into the leaves of a nearby tree, causing the samurai to jump away from the hiding spot she had planed to use. "Shit, you knew where I was going to go before I even got there?"

"As a samurai, I will admit you are skilled, but your ninja skills are barely at the level of an average student. And as I am myself a Jonin, you won't be able to catch me off guard," he told her. "Besides, the second you began to use the little amount of chakra you had, you were doomed."

"What?" she asked incredulously.

He sighed. "Look at your arm."

She looked down where he had indicated and screamed. Hundreds of insects had suddenly swarmed her left arm as she desperately waved it to try and get them off. "When did this happen?!"

"Not very observant. A bad habit for one who would try their hand at ninjustu," he said with a shake of his head. "Didn't you realize that you're still holding that kunai knife that I threw earlier? That knife had a few of my insects attached to it. The females give off an odor that the males can detect and direct me to where you were at all times, just if by some small chance you did get out of my sight. And once I was informed of the fact that you used ninjustu, and with that, chakra, my insect began to get hungry. You see, they feed on chakra, so the moment you used yours, they were able to attach themselves to you to begin and feeding on it."

He was on her suddenly, one hand at her throat, the other gripping the wrist of the arm holding her sword.

"Face it, you lost. Now yield."

"You're the one who's not observant!" she snapped before slashing at his face with his own kunai knife in her free hand. He wasn't able to quite pull away in time as it sliced just across his face and severed his sunglasses right in half before they fell down to the forest floor.

"Shino!" Mori cried out in fear but was held back by Akamaru in case she tried to run to him.

The unnamed woman slammed her insect infested arm against a nearby tree trunk as hard as she could, sending the bugs scattering. She winced a little and threw down a smoke bomb before running for it in the opposite direction.

Shino coughed a little, but he had been far enough away to avoid the worst of the effects. It hadn't been poisonous either, no doubt just used for the purpose of getting away. He would have pursued but that would have left Mori on her own, aside from Akamaru of course, and he didn't think that would be the wisest course of action to take. Instead he turned to her and began to walk over to make sure she okay. He ignored his broken glasses. It would be pointless to grab them.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he knelt down on one knee next to her.

She looked at him, and he could see her trembling. She had a look of utter shock on her face and he sighed. He was use to this sort of reaction, especially when someone saw him use his beetles. Wary looks, coming from people that were freaked out by his silence and techniques. He didn't mind usually, being more than use to it, and too above it to really care. But her look made him a little disappointed that even though she had said she though highly of him while they had been together the other day, she now wanted to shrink away in fear from him.

Which is why he was completely caught off guard when she lunged suddenly and hugged him.

"Mori?" he questioned, barely able to keep his voice normal, but managing it.

"I thought I was going to die," she breathed softly. She was not sobbing or crying, but she was clutching tightly to him and shuddering, leaning on him for support. "I didn't know if anyone would come for me. And when she hit you like that…."

Shino allowed himself to hold her back, even if it did seem awkward to him.

"It's alright," he said. "Every thing's fine now. I'll keep you safe."

She pushed him away a little to look at him, but close enough so that his arms were still around her.

"No, I was worried about you too. I thought she might have killed you," she confessed.

Her gaze came to his eyes and she swallowed. She didn't understand why he kept them hidden. They were beautiful. The deepest shade of brown met her more reddish tinge, and she realized after a moment that she was wrong. They weren't brown, but black. Round black pools in a sea of white that Mori found herself wanting to drown in. Heat began to rise in her as she become conscious of just how close the two were. But she didn't pull away, not wanting to break the embrace.

"Will you be alright?" he asked her.

"I think so," she answered. "How about you?"

"I'm fine. I sustained no real damage during the fight."

"Those insects you used, were they why you decided not to show me any of your ninjustu? Did you think it would bother me?"

"Yes," he told her honestly.

"It was odd," she admitted. "But I don't think it was any different than anything else I've seen recently."

He didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry about your glasses. But it's nice to see your eyes."

It was a strange thing to say in the circumstances, yet it slipped from her lips anyway. He looked at her curiously and she found herself liking the look of his eyes more and more. It was nice to actually see some emotion behind the exterior he usually used to hide. An impulsively a desire hit her. She wanted Shino to know how she felt, wanted to tell him whether it made things difficult on her or not.

"Shino…"

"Hmm?"

"I-"

"Lady Zenkon!"

Mori's head whipped around to see Setsuna and Kiba running up to them. Her bodyguard was by her side in a moment, worry in her eyes as she quickly questioned the princess on her welfare. Shino pulled away from her and stood, but she kept herself from saying anything to him, instead assuring Setsuna that she was unharmed.

Shino meanwhile caught a look from Kiba as Akamaru trotted up to him and was rubbing his head against Kiba's leg. He had stopped short and was looking at his friend strangely. The way he abruptly smirked made Shino feel the need to set him straight on whatever foolish thing he was thinking before it went out of control.

"Kiba…" he began.

"What happened to your glasses?" the dog boy asked quickly.

"They were destroyed," Shino said. "The woman who had Mori ran off a few minutes ago."

"Know who she might have been?" Kiba asked.

Shino shook his head. Not once did he meet Kiba's eyes, feeling the slightest bit self-conscious about his lack of eye wear. Not many people had seen his eyes before, Kiba was one of them, but it still made him uncomfortable slightly because he could not hide them. He thoughts of how Mori had said she liked them made him feel all the more vulnerable about it.

"She didn't say her name," Mori said, taking part in the conversation. Standing with Setsuna's help, she continued. "I was unconscious most of the time, but she had said something about framing Sasuke with my death." The mention of her fiancé brought her back to reality, making her stomach feel like a deflated balloon.

"Sasuke?" Kiba asked. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He's become engaged to Mori. No doubt if the people in the Land of Meadows heard a ninja, and her fiancé no less, had killed their princess it would have resulted in a war instead of a treaty," Shino answered.

"And then there's the matter of Hosaki," Setsuna commented. "He knew me at least, and I'm sure the others do too. This could put us at a disadvantage. Especially since we know nothing about them or their numbers. We know there were at least two members, now one possibly, but that's really about all."

"We do know what their objective is," Shino said and he, Kiba, and Setsuna turned to look at Mori.

"We should be getting back," Setsuna said to Mori who quietly nodded. "The Daimyo is no doubt going frantic with worry. Besides, we don't know that it's safe to stay here."

"Don't you think someone should track the kidnapper?" Kiba asked.

"Tsunade sent some ANBU Black Ops after I had left. We should leave it them," Shino answered. "They'd have a better chance of taking care of the situation since there may be more numbers than what we know of."

"Guess you got a point," Kiba said, looking as if he would have liked to take care of it himself.

---------

"You disappoint me Mouretsu."

The white haired woman stopped running and looked around. She saw a man leaning casually against a tree and watching her. A shock of black hair cut short and spiky topped his head and silver eyes glared at her. He wore light blue pants topped by a vest of the same color tied closed with white string, and a black shroud tied around his waist. A long katana rested on his back, tied to a black leather belt running across his chest.

"Kekkon," she sighed. "Where the hell were you?"

"You let the princess get away. You failed your mission and more than that, you tried to kill her before I had ordered you to."

"Hey, don't give me that," she snapped. "If you had shown up when you said you would, we wouldn't have had this problem."

He shook his head and pushed himself from the tree.

"Hosaki is dead and you can't even follow orders, and then you try and pin the blame on me? I guess I was right about you all along. And I'm afraid that your usefulness has ended."

Before Mouretsu could even blink, she felt his sword tear into her flesh.

"You never were worth the effort," he told her calmly. "You had betrayed samurai long ago when you began to practice ninjustu, even if it was for the power. This is no more than what you deserve."

Her screams pierced the air of the forest as he proceeded to punish her.

----------

I really love doing this chapter, mostly because of the interaction between Mori and Shino. Making him romantic is really OOC in of itself, so I try to only write things that I think he would actually do, but still carry some weight to it. It's all pretty small, but things will come to a head in the next chapter.

I'm afraid that fight scenes aren't my forte (notice how I was pretty vague on Kiba's) so I hope this wasn't too bad. It seemed to flow well enough reading over it, so I guess it's not too horrible.

Well, I'll leave you to review if you would be so kind.


	8. Plans

Naruto, don't own it.

Like there was ever a doubt.

Chapter 8: Plans

Sakura furrowed her brows in concentration as she worked on Kiba's naked arm. Applying some ointment on it, she rubbed it in and began to wrap bandages around it firmly. Performing a few hand seals, she pressed her hands against the wound to help it close up better.

"Where's Akamaru?" she asked, her seat across from him in one of abandoned rooms of the Academy. She was infinitely grateful that the school had been left nearly empty for the day of the celebration since the rooms were usually so noisy from classes with loud kids. She loved teaching, but the quiet was more than a welcome change for her.

"He's resting at home," Kiba replied. "He didn't want to, what with my shoulder, but I insisted. I think he'll need his energy soon from what happened earlier."

"Figured you'd be the one to get hurt," Sakura commented as she finished up. "Don't worry though, my healing justus did the trick I think."

"Oh, shut it. It's not like I lost," Kiba shot back. "He only got my shoulder. I could've taken care of him, whether Setsuna had shown up or not."

"Oh come on, you helped her once, she helped you once. Can't you two just accept the fact that you two might not really hate each other's guts as much as you act like you do?" Sakura asked.

"What, are you kidding?" Kiba asked incredulously. "She's stubborn, annoying, can't just accept help without bitching up a storm, and she-"

"Sounds like you," she joked, smiling.

Kiba shrugged his shirt and jacket back on, subconsciously fingering the hole in both of them. "Bite me. What's got you in such a good mood anyway?"

"What, didn't you hear? Mori isn't going to marry Sasuke!"

Kiba scooted back in his chair, as far away from Sakura as he could get as she beamed.

"Wait, what do you mean? Sasuke change his mind or something?" Kiba asked.

"Not at all," Setsuna said from the doorway where she had just walked into the room. "Mori convinced the Daimyo to withdraw his offer. She just told Sakura that she would before she was actually able to talk with her father." Setsuna gave Sakura a strange smile that Kiba could only describe as warm. He couldn't help but think it was unnatural for her to look such a way, as if she were trying her hardest to fake it. "Our pink haired ninja was just counting her chickens before they were hatched."

"But why would Mori want to reject the marriage?" Kiba asked before Sakura glared at him "Come off of it Sakura. Your boy toy is safe."

"Hey!" Sakura snapped indignantly.

Setsuna coughed. "If you two would come with me, everything is going to be explained by your Hokage. She's required your presence before a decision is made."

"Decision?" Sakura asked. "About what?"

"What will be done for Lady Zenkon's protection? That is, if there will still be a marriage for anyone," Setsuna answered simply before turning and walking out, leaving the two to follow.

The two leaf ninjas exchanged quick glances before jumping out of their chairs and chasing after Setsuna. They soon found themselves in Tsunade's office, and saw the woman leaning against her desk with her arms crossed. Shizune was standing next to the Hokage, and Mori and the Daimyo were standing across from them a few feet away. Shino was also in the room, near a window, watching all of them intently.

Kiba noticed his brows were knitted together, showing the young man was thinking hard. He also noticed that the insect wielder had a pair of glasses back on. Kiba didn't bother to wonder where Shino might have gotten them or when he might have had time to pick them up, not really interested in giving himself a headache in thinking about it.

"Well," Tsunade started as Setsuna moved to stand close to Mori, "since you two decided to get all involved in this, I suppose you should be here when we talk things out." At this comment Kiba mentally snorted, noticing Sasuke was in fact absent. "I think it's pretty clear that everyone knows what's been happening in the last few hours, and I'm not wasting time on a involved recap. The short version is simple, the Princess of the Land of Meadows was kidnapped, and the reason for that is because there is someone that doesn't want there to be a treaty, or a Hidden Village, to come to the Land of Meadows. What we don't know is who's behind this or what's going to happen now. Daimyo, if you don't want a treaty, then I'll understand. You can leave as soon as you wish, and we'll all pretend this never happened. There won't even be a charge for the guides from Shino. You can all go, and Mori is sure to be safe."

Mori wasn't listening to what the Hokage was saying, though she knew she should have been. All her mind could go over was the conversation that she had just had with her father not too long ago about her wedding.

---------

Mori's father embraced her so hard that it almost hurt her sides, yet she did not complain or pull away, too fully realizing how easily it could have been that she would have never seen him again.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she hugged him back, happily.

"I was so terrified that you were gone," he whispered in her ear. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you like your mother."

"It's okay Father. I'm fine," she reassured him. She pulled gently out of his grasp and turned to Setsuna, who was the only other person in the personal bedchambers of the Daimyo. "Setsuna, could you please wait outside the door and make sure no one bothers my Father and I? I need to talk to him with no interruptions."

"Does this have to do with what you said to Sakura before she left with Kiba?" Setsuna asked.

Mori nodded.

"As you wish," Setsuna replied and walked out of the room.

"Sakura?" the Daimyo asked. "That's the name of that woman from earlier, isn't it? The one that interrupted your meeting with the young Uchiha?"

Mori nodded. "Yes, it is. Actually, it is Uchiha Sasuke that I need to talk with you about." She drew in a breath. "Father, I do not wish to marry such a man. He chills my insides, and makes me think that my kidnappers may just have a point. They think that the ninja will destroy the way of the samurai, and I think if that is the man that will help me lead our country, then they are right. Our people would never accept such a man... and neither can I. If I, who has supported your plan to my fullest capabilities, could not even feel right around such a cold person how would our people feel about him?"

She had rushed to say everything she could before she would be stopped and told to shush, but he let her speak her mind all he way through, listening patiently. She was surprised. Often she was simply told what to do, and she would comply, knowing it was usually best and that arguing would accomplish nothing. Perhaps her father was already thinking of ending the engagement in order to try and keep his daughter safe.

"These thoughts are not just your own," the Daimyo stated. Mori opened her mouth to object, but he held up his hand to silence her. She did not even need to be told. She closed her mouth. "I have seen the expressions of Setsuna, I heard the past history of the young woman who is in love with Sasuke, and I understand that some of the Council has expressed worries back home about our Samurai losing their place in our country, and it would seem that your kidnappers think the same. I understand all of this, just as well as I understand the fact that you have a nearly undeniable urge to please everyone around you. However, I have only one question for you. Do you have your own reason? I know all of these reasons already and I promise you on the grave of your mother I have thought through them all. All except for your kidnapping. I kept it secret, my plan, because I thought that it was possible for you to be hurt back at home if the truth was discovered. But I never thought it would be possible for you to be taken after we arrived here, a mistake that I beg your forgiveness for."

"Father..." Mori whispered, unsure what else to say.

"Tell me if you don't want this, and I will take you home. I do not care the cost, for have I learned that for all the people in our country, that I must be a father before I am a ruler. I must do this, because I was a ruler before I was a husband. It is my weakness, maybe to care more for you than anyone else, but I will never attempt to change it. I will not force you to marry if you don't want to. Even if it is fear, you simply have to say that it is your reason."

Mori looked into the eyes of her father. Eyes that must have been so cloudy from all of the things that he had seen. His body that was so old and beaten from the things he had experienced. She had been born late in his life, mid-thirties. He had sacrificed much for their people. It was from him that she had learned how to live her life. But there had been rare occasions where he showed just what he always tried to hide; that he was a human. The fact that he would do this for her, but for no one else, only showed what a paradox this man really was.

"Father," she replied. "My reasons for not wanting this union are many. It is for Setsuna and Sakura and my people, just as much as it is for me. I want them all to be happy, because that would make me happy. I was led nowhere nor manipulated by anyone. I will admit though that there is a reason of my own, a selfish desire despite all my talk of other people. Even if for fear you say? Well, there was fear, not only for my life but the life of one other. There was a man that saved me. A man that I've realized recently that I care about very deeply. I've decided that I can not marry Sasuke because... because I want to be with someone else."

"Someone else?" he asked. "Who?"

She smiled softly. "Arburame Shino."

---------

She had confessed to her father. That had been the easy part, though she had not expected it to go over as well as it had. She had known in her heart that her father would not force her into a situation that she did not feel was right, but only if she could back up her claim. She loved her father, but he did not often prove an easy man to negotiate with. Honestly, it had shocked her when he agreed to call off the wedding just because she did not feel right about her fiancé.

'Still,' she thought, 'my situation was much like his with Mother. Could that have something to do with it?'

She risked a quick glance over at Shino, who she noticed was looking over at her direction. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he was looking at her? He did not move his head as she looked away, her face feeling suddenly very hot.

'I have to tell him,' she thought, remembering her father's offer to propose matrimony to his family. But she didn't want that. She wanted to confess to Shino and tell him everything of how she felt. It was too personal to be handled as a foreign affair. Perhaps she was being reckless, but she wanted to know if it was possible that he could feel the same way as her.

That is why no one but her father knew why Sasuke had been informed that the marriage was being called off. The man in question had just shrugged and said that it didn't matter to him before stalking off. It had made things easier. Many would have demanded to know why they were being treated in such a way, but Sasuke's aloof manner had been a blessing in and itself. Mori wanted Shino to find out from her and no one else.

"I would appreciate if you would tolerate our presence for the rest of the week," the Daimyo said as Mori began to finally pay attention to what was being said. "I decided against Sasuke, to ensure my daughters protection, but if there will still be a marriage with someone else is debatable."

"What bothers me is that somehow the kidnappers knew about who was going to marry the princess beforehand. But there were only a few select people that found out," Tsunade commented with a sigh. "Somehow they found out information, in a situation where everything is being handled with confidentiality."

"One of the kidnappers could use ninjutsu," Shino interjected. "She was masquerading around as me when she grabbed Mori. It would have been easy enough to get information while no one's guard was up. However, trusting that they'll get think the marriage has been called off isn't as likely, unless we intentionally leak the news."

"True," Shizune said. "Not to mention the festival that will happen soon. No one knows that Sasuke had been chosen, and no one knows that Mori had been kidnapped either. Only the Black Ops that were sent, as well as us, were aware of the situation. According to the Village, things are still perfectly normal. Not a thing has gone wrong."

"So what happens now?" Sakura asked. "If everyone is unaware of what's going on, wouldn't it be a bad idea to suddenly reveal it all at once? There is suppose to be an announcement today, but what do we do if there's no groom to announce?"

"Just call it off," Kiba said. "Say that there won't be any announcement for now, for whatever reason, and let the kidnappers think that they had their way. It protects Mori, and takes care of the other details too. We watch over her during the rest of the week while other things are thought out, and burn the other bridges when we get to 'em."

"Good idea," Tsunade commented, "except for one thing. We don't know for sure that will appease whoever is out there. Especially since they seem to be pretty ruthless. Just a while ago, I received a report from the ANBU that I had sent to the forest to look for them. All that was found was two bodies. One was Hosaki, that I was told was killed during his fight with Kiba. The other, according to description, was the woman that took Mori in the first place. At least what was left of her. I'm not going to say how she was found, but it wasn't pretty, to say the least. So this can tell us one thing."

"There's at least a third person," Setsuna stated. "And whoever it is, wasn't happy with that woman."  
"That's my guess," the Hokage said. "And we know this wasn't someone helping either, because of what message was left behind. Carved into a tree nearby were these words: All who would interact with ninja are on the same level as ninja. Mouretsu deserved no less."

"Mouretsu being the kidnapper?" the Daimyo asked.

"Yes, probably. But the problem is that the person that attacked Mouretsu is turning on his or her own teammates because they were using ninjutsu, even if it was to supposedly to save samurai. I don't think this person will give up and go home just because the marriage was canceled. There's still a good chance that they will be after your daughter."

"So the cancellation didn't do a thing?" Setsuna snarled. "Tch. Figures. Look, no matter the case, Lady Zenkon needs to be protected. It all comes down to that. So exactly what are we going to do about that?"

"Throw a party," Tsunade answered.

"What will that do?" the Daimyo inquired.

"Throw off the attention from Mori of course. We have the announcement right on schedule, but tell everyone there that the groom took ill and is resting. I still want a party though, and every thing's set up already, so no one will think it odd if we still celebrate. The princess will be there too."

"Now wait just one second," Setsuna snapped. "That will just put her right in harm's way. What sense does that make?"

"None whatsoever. Which is why we're doing it. In reality, Mori will be kept safe here, with Shino to watch over her. We have somebody to disguise themselves as the Princess and partake in the celebration, with everyone keeping an eye on her. This will get the one after Mori to possibly try and grab the double, thinking it's actually their target. The double will be a ninja, so they'll stand a better shot of fighting if they have to than Mori would. If it works, we'll have who's after Mori, and she'll be safe. A decoy mission. Simple, but effective."

"What if the person doesn't take the bait?" Kiba asked.

Tsunade shrugged. "Burn that bridge when we get to it, right Kiba?"

"Only one thing," Setsuna said as she put a hand on Mori's arm. "I'm not leaving the Princess' side again. This all started because I wasn't with her. Everyone else can watch the double. I'll be with her for the rest of the time."

"But this is why you need to be at the festival," Mori said. "Don't you think it would be odd that my main protection isn't with me right after I'd been saved from an assassination attempt? If you're anywhere else, the kidnapper could become suspicious. It would ruin the whole plan. Don't worry, I'll still be safe with Shino, even if something does go wrong."

The samurai let her hand drop with a jerk.

"But I won't know if your safe," she said. "Fine, you people do whatever you want. I'll watch over some ninja who I don't even know while a single man keeps the real Lady Zenkon safe. Is that what you want me to say? Not like there's anything else I can so about it."

"We should start preparations," Shino commented. "How much longer until this celebration starts?"

"A little less than two hours," Shizune said.

"It would be best to get ready, now that we've decided," Tsunade agreed. "Shino, this celebration isn't going to be for a little while. The longer the wait is, the better chance is the kidnapper will show before he should. I want you to go ahead and get Mori to her room now and watch over her. Sakura, Kiba, we need somebody that can be the double. I want you to go and get Hinata. She'd be the best to be on look out if someone tries to approach her in disguise. Her Byakugan will be able to see if there's anything suspicious going on, and since anything suspicious will go straight for her, she won't be caught off guard. After you get her, come back here and I'll brief her on what she'll need to do."

"Wait, I'll be going too," Setsuna said.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"I think this person that's going to playing Lady Zenkon should know who I am. The ones trying to assassinate Lady Zenkon are from our own country, and seem to know a great deal about us. If she's to be a presentable copy, then we should be as familiar with each other as possible. Unless you have a problem with that?" she asked Tsunade sarcastically.

"Nope," she responded. "Sounds great. Then, that only leaves the Daimyo," She turned to the elder man. "If it's alright with you, I want to place you under the protection of an ANBU unit, just to be safe."

"You think I might be a target?" he asked, not really sounding surprised. "Yes, I am the one who started this. I understand completely. I will do whatever you like."

"Will you be willing to be at the celebration? I think it would be best to do that. It won't look odd if you already have protection, you are a Daimyo after all, and chances are you won't be bothered if a unit is there. If there is trouble, I'll be nearby, so with the ANBU team, you'll be totally safe. I just don't think that we should try and risk concealing two people. It'd backfire too easily."

"I agree," the Daimyo stated. "If it will keep my daughter safe, then I will do anything that you ask."

"Alright," Tsunade said as she clapped her hands together, "I'm counting on everyone. Good luck too all of you."

Setsuna, Mori, and the three Leaf Ninjas left the room first, shutting the door behind them.

"Well, I'll see you all soon," Mori said to the three as she bowed deeply to them. "Be safe Setsuna."

"You as well," Setsuna said as she looked to Shino. "I'll trust you to keep her safe."

He nodded before the two began to walk off.

"Aw crud," Sakura said suddenly. "Hey, can you guys wait for a moment? I left my ninja medic tools in the classroom. I have to go grab them real quick."

"Hey, can't you just get 'em later?" Kiba objected.

"When? While we're busy tonight, guarding the Princess? That's a great idea Kiba," Sakura snapped. "It'll only take a minute, and I'm not going to leave all of my things lying around."

"Wow, look at her go," Kiba commented as she ran off. "Gee, how did that lame brain ever get to be a ninja?"

The samurai glared at him, but he was getting to use too it for it to really have much of an effect.

"I wasn't being serious," he muttered. "So, when are you going to tell me who that Hosaki guy is?"

"I already told you, I don't know him," she answered, looking away.

"Then how did he know about this ninja of yours?" Setsuna's head shot up so suddenly Kiba smirked. "I can tell that it's something you don't want to talk about. The reaction you just gave is enough to convince me of that. And why would that be? The fact that he killed- OOF!"

Setsuna quickly removed her fist from Kiba's doubled over stomach and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, jerking him up to eye level.

"Shut your mouth," she hissed. "The Daimyo is right on the other side of that wall. He doesn't know and neither does Lady Zenkon. And I plan to keep it that way."

"Now I want to say something even more," he said, still sounding smug, despite her grip.

"Are you threatening to blackmail me?"

"Oh, you better believe it," he stated.

"We're talking somewhere else," she demanded. "Private, now."

"Fine," he replied and she let go of him. "Come on."

When they were a safe distance from the Hokage's office, Kiba walked into an empty room. It was one that he knew well. The old classroom where he had first learned the way of ninja. It had seemed like a longtime ago, but in reality it had only been about nine or ten years. Then again, maybe that was a long time. He gave a quick sniff, and though he recognized the lingering smell of children in the classroom, nothing indicated there was anyone else was there besides for him and Setsuna. He turned back to look at her.

"Look," he started, "it's now my mission to help protect Mori as well as yours. And I think that you have the same concern about what Hosaki said. If you tell me that nothing happened and that guy was lying, or that this doesn't have anything to do with back then, then I'll let it drop. I won't necessarily believe you, but I'll drop it. But before you do, tell me, didn't it occur to you that this guy that knew about your past shouldn't? I'm guessing that you did your best to keep it under wraps, whatever happened. He obviously had some connection, which could prove dangerous."

"Of course it occurred to me. It's all true and now that you know, I won't lie to you about it," she said softly. "This is what scares me about this situation, and why I think I should be the one watching Mori tonight. And as for Hosaki's knowledge, I can't figure out how he got it, which scares me even more. Anyone who knew died, except for me. Why do you think I killed him?"

"You gonna do the same to me?" he asked sarcastically.

"I really should have, you know that? Nothing good came from me trying to help you," she said, crossing her arms.

"Oh will you come off of it?!" he yelled at her. "God, you are so damn annoying! You push everyone away by being so anti-fucking-social, then bitch and moan when you're asked to be away from Mori to keep her safe, and even though you know it's best, you still have to complain! You say that you're paying back a debt when you came back for me, which I know is bullshit 'cause you weren't even very grateful when we got to Sakura's, and then you make that kind of comment just because I have the gall to want to know what's going on! Just what the hell is with you?"

"Don't even start acting like your trying to help!" Setsuna yelled back. "You don't understand anything that's going on with me!"

"Yeah, well there's a reason for that!"

"You want to know so bad? FINE! I-" she cut herself off, suddenly whipping her head to the side angrily. Was she really about to tell him? But he wouldn't stop. No, she hadn't said anything yet. She didn't have to continue. But looking back at his angry expression made her feel scared about what he might say to the others. He knew a little, and he wouldn't stop pushing for more until he knew everything.

"Swear that you won't say anything of what I tell you to anyone. Not unless I decide that it's okay. You have to promise to take this to the grave with you if I ask you to," she said, already calming down a little.

"Setsuna," he said testily.

"Just promise me," she snapped at him.

"Okay, okay. I promise," he told her in an exasperated tone before relaxing as well. "I promise Setsuna. I won't say anything unless we have too."

She sighed as she sat with a thump on a desk that was behind her. Could she really do this? It's not like she had a choice.

'I'm making a mistake by trusting him,' she thought. 'Just like I did before.'

"It was a little over two years ago, a couple of months before the Zenkon's murder," she started.

---------

I'm sorry to end this here, but I did not want a super long chapter on my hands. I know I said that Setsuna's past would be explained in this chapter, but there really is no room. I swear that it will be in the very next chapter, and as an apology, I will do my best to update a soon as humanly possible. Just a few days hopefully.

This chapter came out unexpected. I had the whole thing outlined earlier because I wanted to make sure that everything got covered in everyone's conversation, and what I figured would be a small filler scene to catch all the characters up with each other ended up becoming a full chapter. I went back to try and trim, but everything was important and I didn't want to write "Well, they all talked, and this is the plan they came up with," or something lame like that. So, sorry for the boring chapter.

However, I do have this good news. There will be Shino/Mori fluff VERY soon as well Naruto/Hinata fluff. Also, I've decided to make Setsuna/Kiba as well. You all have Amura, one of my reviewers and now beta, to thank for this. She practically threatened me with bodily harm if they didn't get together. Whether they stay together or not is debatable though. I still have to decide. They are still pretty mean to each other. No relationship is really good like that.

You'll all understand why soon enough.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you review. I'd really appreciate it.


	9. Confessions

Yes! Finally I get to write Setsuna's past. I've been wanting to do this since I came up with her character concept, before I even had thought up her name. I hope that everyone likes this chapter, though I will warn you that it is pretty tragic. Hope it didn't go over the rating, but I think it should be fine.

Alright, I don't and have never owned Naruto. I do however own some of the anime episodes, some bootlegged and some bought, depending on my cash levels at the time. I also own a huge collection of Shonen Jump, a couple of the video games on the Play Station, Game Cube, and G. B. Advance (Actually, I think Ninja Council 2 was way too easy. I beat it three times in one day.) I also own a Scroll Backpack and a Kankuro figure and key-chain. (Yep, I'm an official Kankuro fangirl, a rare breed it would seem. He's the coolest character in my opinion, and he jut plain rocks.) There are also about five dozen pictures on my computer that has to do with Naruto. And last but not least, I have a cosplay outfit of the ninjas official uniform and many pricks on my fingers when I had too sew it together by hand because my sewing machine broke. Ouch.

So with all of this things (and I realize that my collection is actually pretty small in comparison to other's) I think that I can admit that I don't own the concept. Though if I did...

Sorry, I'll stop now.

Chapter 9: Confession

Setsuna tilted her head back and looked up at the ceiling. The overhead light wasn't too bright, so she was able to look up at it without having to squint or hurt her eyes. A subconscious thought came to her about how easily Kiba could attack her in her pose that exposed her throat so well, but she only mentally sighed at the fact that she had become so paranoid that thoughts like that were just so common for her. Did she expect anyone to attack her like that? No, but she would not be surprised if someone did.

"Like I said," she started again, "it all started a little over two years ago. I was pretty different from back then. I was more open, kinder, and I was able to trust people a lot easier." Her head dropped back down. "In short, I was a naive little fool who had no idea what the world, or people in it, were really like at all.

"Trained since I was six, I was a natural with a blade, even more so than what talent my family usually showed. My parents were the Heads of the family, and trained me themselves, and I prospered like no one could have expected. All my life, I was respected and revered by everyone because of my family, and because of my own skill. My family was treated just as well as the Zenkon's, being their personal protectors, and I was no exception. I never thought much of it. All I really cared about at the time was my best friend in the world, Lady Zenkon. We were close back them, certainly closer than we are now. But since I was a warrior, and two years older than her, she also looked up to me in her own way. I never had anyone who saw me for a simple girl. I grew up like that, not even noticing since the attention was constant, and even at seventeen, I never thought it mattered. It was just how things were, and I accepted it, only showing attention to my family, friend and to my duties.

"Then one day, I heard a rumor that several ninja were coming to the country's capital, were we lived. There was a merchant caravan that was coming for a few months to do business from another country. They had hired about two dozen ninja to protect them on their journey. I had been told about ninja by my family before. They weren't thought highly of, but accepted as a force from other countries. My family, I wouldn't say was distrusting of the one's that were there, but I and others my age were instructed never to let one get too close to the Zenkons. Ninjas were crafty and not to be trusted with a turned back. But we needed the money stimulation that trade would bring, so the foreign ninjas were accepted without complaint, as long as they followed a few rules, like never going near the palace. They complied readily enough, and it was no problem.

"I was curious, as I had never met a ninja before in my life, but I never went out of my way to meet one. They would be there for only three months, and then gone forever, so I didn't care enough to investigate. Instead I met one by accident, a man who I ran into while out in town. He was on duty at the time, trying to prevent a robbery against one of the merchants from several different men, who were drunk at the time. I helped, since it was happening in my city, and after the goons were taken care of the ninja wanted to thank me for my assistance. I saw no harm, so I accepted his offer to spend the day with him after he was relieved of duty for the time.

"He was... different than anyone that I had ever interacted with before," she said as a small smile began to tug at her lips. "He introduced himself as Ryou, and had no idea who I was until I told him. He had a way about him that transfixed me. He always had a smile on his face, and an air about him that made you think he knew a private joke that was making him so happy. And all anyone around him wanted was to be let in on the joke too, just so you could feel half as special as he seemed to be. When he and I parted ways, I found myself wanting to see him again, and actually sought him out the next day."

She paused in her explanation and Kiba noticed her scowl again, as if disappointed with herself for still caring for a man that had somehow hurt her deeply. Kiba crossed his arms and waited, actually feeling a little angry that she spoke with such a fondness for this man, though he wasn't sure why. It was probably just because she was dwelling and he wanted to hear the rest of the story quickly. He snorted. Of course that was it.

"Anyway," she continued after a few minutes of silence, "the two of us became close rather quickly. I began to become aware of how nice it was to be around someone who didn't care about status or duty around me. There was no expectations I had to fill. I could simply be Setsuna. Not a samurai, or a bodyguard, just Setsuna. And it was nice to be thought of in such a sense.

"My family never knew about my activities. I never dared tell them, thinking they might be upset or ban me from seeing him. He quickly became like a drug that I was craving all the time, and I left to see him whenever I could. I never thought that I was doing anything wrong, and thought my family were paranoid fools and idiots for believing that all ninja were evil and cared only for gold and bloodshed. Ryou was kind and happy, and though I had seen he was a good fighter in my first encounter with him, he was only doing something that he had been employed to do, while it had been citizens of my own country that had started the problem.

"And then one day, about a month after the ninja had arrived, Ryou asked me to meet him in secret. I did so without a single thought about it. He told me that he had fallen in love with me, and that when the others went back, he wanted to stay by my side... in the Land of the Meadows. I was so happy. I told him what I had been feeling for him was the same, and that nothing would make me happier than to spend my life with him.

"We eloped that night, getting married in secret, and spent our first evening together as a married couple. I had never experienced such happiness. We still met often, though now doing things that newlywed couples do, without telling anyone. I was even more terrified of how my family would react, even though my lover began to want to be introduced to them. I always held it off, wanting him to myself, unwilling to loose him or share him. I got more daring as time went on, wanting him to be my secret, but on the other hand, so convinced that I could keep him from being discovered that I began to do stupid things like sneak him into the palace. It was something that I had been forbidden from doing before I had even met him, but I... I wanted it to be in my bedroom, just once."

Kiba stared at this woman, not sure what had shocked him more, the fact that she had been married, or that it had been to a ninja. She had not been exaggerating, she must have been a different person to do something that would require such trust of a person.

"I thought that everything was fine. I was carried away by emotions and a love that had never even approached me before he had come along. Nothing was going to go wrong in my opinion. Everything was perfect, until the day of Lady Zenkon's birthday. My family found out. A letter had arrived from my lover, explaining who he was and what we had done.

"I still remember their glares as my they looked down at me. I remember that I was bent over a mat by my own mother as my father stood over me with his katana and declared that I was no longer a part of the family. He called me a traitor and I didn't deny it, miserable that my experiences with Ryou were now over. I remember hating every single one of them back because I had done nothing wrong in my mind. And I remember my older brother screaming as others held him back, begging my father to show me mercy. But mercy was the last thing my father showed. He didn't even have the decency to kill me quickly."

Setsuna turned to Kiba, meeting his gaze. She sucked in a breath and continued in a shaky voice.

"You asked me how I got the wound on my stomach. It came from my father. He said that I didn't deserve the honor that Seppuku would give and I didn't deserve a quick death either. Instead he slashed open my stomach to make me suffer... and to kill the child inside of me."

The dog ninja's eyes widened in shock. "You... you were pregnant?"

"A month along. I probably conceived the first time, but it was impossible to tell as often as we met. Ironically, I had only found out the day before, and had told Ryou. My father said that no half-breed would be in his family, as if we were different species. I would have screamed at him if I hadn't been in so much pain. Instead I only lay on the floor, bleeding, and waiting for my father to finish me off. But just as he was raising his blade to kill me, we all heard an explosion coming from the main compound outside. The very place were Lady Zenkon's birthday was being celebrated. None of my family was there. The normal guards were there instead, while the Gisei Clan was gathered to punish me. They ran off so they could deal with the threat and left me to bleed to death. Not even my brother stayed to help me and I forced myself to get outside, crawling most of the way. I saw ninja attacking, every single one trying to kill the Zenkon Family. And among them, I saw Ryou right before my father killed him.

"I lost consciousness then, and woke up the next morning to find out my entire clan was dead, as were all the ninja that had attacked, and nearly half of the royal family. And I knew then what had happened. I knew that it had been me that had condemned them all. Killed them all. I had betrayed my family and the Zenkons for a man that I thought loved me, but simply was using me to get on the inside. Ryou had sent that letter that day on purpose, to lure my family away from Lady Zenkon's. I brought him inside secretly, showing him the best way to sneak in, and in turn, doomed everyone.

"Afterwards, everyone saw me as a hero, and my fame increased greatly, simply because I had survived. They thought that I had fought too, and had just been wounded by a ninja. Filled with shame, I never said otherwise. I insisted on wrapping myself up, saying that the Zenkons needed the royal healers more than I did, but it was only because I didn't want them to discover the truth. Days later, I found out the damage to my body. My child had been lost but I already had known that and all evidence that I had even been carrying was gone. My insides had been so badly damaged though, I could never carry to term again. My stomach never healed properly, I never let it, feeling that I deserved that punishment at least."

Setsuna was trembling now, as she sat hunched over on the desk, but anger was flashing in her eyes instead of sorrow.

"I had lost everything that night. I lost my family and any means to bring it back. I am the last Gisei, and nothing will ever change that. That is why 'Banished' is on my back. Because I will one day be gone as well, whether by ninja or death. With no redemption, no honor, no courage to confess, and no way to even continue the line."

"But," Kiba said, "you didn't know. It's wasn't your fault."

"I didn't know, yes. But that's not an excuse. I was foolish. I know I didn't kill anyone myself, but I still sinned. It **is** my fault, and there is no point in denying it. They all died because I trusted that ninja, who simply stabbed me in the back."

Kiba stood there, not really sure what to say. He had heard these things before. He personally knew people that had rough pasts too. But he never knew what to say or how to console them.

"So that's why you hate us," he eventually settled on saying. Oh yeah, that helped.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. She saw his skeptical expression and sighed. "Well, not anymore. I did hate all ninjas for what had happened at first, but after two years, I had buried it inside of me. I didn't want to think about it. Then we came here, and yes, at first I did hate all of you for something you had nothing to do with. But it didn't last, even though I wanted it to."

She slid off of the desk and straightened up.

"I believed one thing back then. To me, there was no difference between us. Nindo or Bushido. Ninja or Samurai. We are all people. A person must judge and be judged by an individual level, not by their status or occupation. And despite everything, I'm beginning to think that again now. I'm friends with a hopeless romantic ninja named Sakura, and have no problem admitting it. I trusted Shino to save Lady Zenkon in my place, while I went back for you. And you were right about me. I didn't come back out of some kind of debt I thought I owed you. I went back because I was genuinely worried about you. Even now I don't know why, but I don't think it had anything to do with you saving me. In fact, that night when I acted so angry at Sakura's home, it was because you reminded me of how kind Ryou had been to me. I remembered how warm I use to feel when thinking of him, and I resented you for it."

"So," he realized, "that's why you looked so upset. Because of what happened before."

"Yes. And that is why I hate ninja now. Because you people are making me think what I thought before. I do like some of you. I told you this because I don't think you'll blow my cover to Lady Zenkon, the one person who I could never stand to hate me as I deserve. But at the same time, there is the constant thought in the back of my mind, that keeps me from completely believing in you people. The thought that this line of thinking made me betray my family. I will never be as trusting as I once was, but I don't hate you people for a crime you didn't commit either. One day one of you may hurt me, but it won't catch me off guard, even if it was Sakura herself."

She looked at his face and saw empathy for her. She would have gotten angry, if she did not feel so drained from her confession.

"Don't pity me Kiba," she said. "Of everyone that was hurt or killed that night, I'm the last one on the lists that could be considered a victim. I deserve the hell that I'm in."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Don't be an idiot! You were tricked and used by a bastard that never gave one rip about you! You lost your family, your chance to be a mother, and the guy you thought was in love with you at the time! Don't say your not a victim, because I can't think of a single damn person that deserves that!" he yelled. He wasn't really angry, at least not with her. It just frustrated him when someone insisted on taking the blame even though they didn't need to. And he was wishing that Ryou guy was still alive so he could tear him apart himself.

"If you can't think of one person, than your not trying hard enough," she told him. "But in any case, I told you, and that's all I promised to do. I expect you to drop it now, and never say anything about it. I'm not going to waste time threatening you, mostly because you already know what I'll do if you let it slip."

She put her hands up and knocked his off of her shoulders, turned her back on him, and walked to the door.

"Come on, the others are probably wondering where we are by now. We have to get back," she said over her shoulder.

---------

Kiba still had an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach when they got back to find Sakura waiting for them. He did not bother listening to her as she asked where they had gotten off to, or to Setsuna's explanation, whatever it had been. He wasn't regretting his decision to force Setsuna to talk. On the other hand, he was kind of glad that he finally knew. It really had made a lot of things about her make more sense now.

But he was pretty pissed off. He had always thought Setsuna was a hard-head. To know that she was actually kind of frail because of her feelings, it made him feel a little protective of her, like how he felt towards Hinata. He wanted to make her to feel better, but there didn't seem to be anything he could do. And it always frustrated him when there wasn't anything he could do.

He didn't really pay attention to where they were going when they left to get Hinata, walking on autopilot and trusting Sakura to know the way well enough to get there. He didn't notice that Sakura kept looking behind her to watch Kiba and Setsuna, who was being just as quiet as him. He didn't notice the grin playing across Sakura's face either, as she chuckled and began to walk with a bounce in her step. Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared, or maybe he would have used the excuse to try and hit her across the top of the head.

He did notice when Setsuna suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

"You should get Akamaru," she said simply. "I have a feeling it'd be a good idea to have him along."

Kiba didn't know if she was trying to get rid of him, but he jumped at the chance to leave anyway. Nodding, he ran off, shouting that he'd meet them back in the Hyuga Compound later on.

"I just need to clear my head," he told himself. "I'll go home, get Akamaru, talk to him about it, and then get back. Maybe I'll be able to do some sparring later on too. I could use it."

"Hey," Sakura asked as she watched him bound off. "What's the matter with him?"

Setsuna shrugged. "Who knows. He just said something about getting his dog."

"Probably wants him around for later on. Can't blame him. Those two spend so much time together, their almost inseparable," she said as she and the samurai turned a corner. "So, what were you doing while we were gone?"

"I already told you, don't worry about it," Setsuna replied.

"O-kay," she chirped back, sounding much too happy for Setsuna's comfort. "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. Hee, I think you guys shouldn't be so shy though."

"What are you talking about?" Setsuna asked, bewildered.

"Well, you guys act like you hate each other so much, then you both disappear like that with no explanation. If you want to cover up what's going on between you, then you really should be more careful," Sakura explained.

"Yeah," the samurai said absentmindedly to her friend. "You're probably right."

Sakura mentally squealed. She knew it! She wondered for a moment if the two were already together and just not wanting people to know, or if they were interested but just too shy to take it anywhere. In either case, she knew the evening was about to get a lot more enjoyable.

'Definitely going to have to get Ino in on it now,' she thought.

"Wait! You knew?" Setsuna asked suddenly. "How?"

"Well, you weren't great at hiding it. I don't know all of the details but I have been paying attention," Sakura said with a shrug. "Plus Kiba was acting pretty suspicious about it too."

"But Kiba couldn't have said anything. I was here with you guys." Setsuna was looking a little frantic now and Sakura had to stop and place her hands on Setsuna's shoulder to get her to calm down.

"Setsuna, relax. I'm not going to go and announce it to the entire Village or anything. You're secret is safe. Kiba kind of tipped me off when I was patching up him up. He didn't exactly say anything, but I could tell. I would have liked it if you had been straight up with me, here I was thinking you were just unromantic, but I can also understand how you didn't want to say anything."

Setsuna bit her lip. "I don't really feel comfortable with you knowing." 'She must just know what Hosaki said about Ryou killing everyone and me being with him. Hope she doesn't press the issue.' "Look, would promise not to say anything? Its not something I'm proud of, me and a ninja being together. Just keep it to yourself."

"So, things did happen between you two?" Sakura asked as they began to walk again.

Setsuna nodded.

"I wish there was something I could do to help," Sakura commented. "But it's really not something to be ashamed of."

"Kiba said the same thing. But you can't help, so just don't worry about it." She put a hand up to her stomach, recalling her rage that she had felt when she had seen her lover betraying her like he had. Yet here she was, in a ninja country, confiding in two ninjas about herself, and once again being a trusting little fool. She didn't know if it would end up hurting her. She didn't want it to, not even to make her think the right way again. It didn't really matter. After all, what did she care anymore? She felt the way she did, and no nonsense like common sense seemed to be able to fix it. She really hated ninja, even if it was because she couldn't hate them like she wanted to.

"Hey, is your stomach okay?" Sakura questioned. "Kiba said you didn't do any real fighting to open it up, but I am a little worried with all the rushing around you did."

"It fine," Setsuna answered. "To be honest I'm surprised that it hasn't torn already. I've been feeling some pain, but thats it, and I'm more than use to that. You're pretty good."

"Well gee, thanks. I'll want a look at it later though. Think of it as a check up."

She nodded. "Fine."

---------

This chapter was pretty depressing writing it up, so I just had to throw in the part with Sakura to make it more lighthearted. Yes, she totally got the wrong idea, thinking Kiba and Setsuna were an item while Setsuna thinks she now has two people to worry about that know her past. This was going to happen whether the two get together or not, but since I decided to put in some mutual attraction, it only makes it that much more fun. And yes, scary matchmaker Sakura is going to be torturing these two clueless characters.

Well, now you all know the full story about Setsuna. I really enjoyed writing it, even though it was sad, as this makes her more realistic in my opinion. She's got problems, ones that she won't be getting over for a really long time. Even with Kiba to try and help out, she's alone in this, mostly because she refuses to let anyone in. Also, it's fun to write a character in conflict with herself. No mater what she does, she's going to think she's done the wrong thing. So making her move forward, all the while as she telling herself not to, is going to be a fun challenge.

And thanks to Amura who has been beating the last few chapters and motivating me to get these chapters written on some type of schedule, or at least not letting it sit for a month.

As always, I would appreciate a little feedback. If you don't want to, that's fine, but it makes me feel good when somebody gives their opinion, whether it's a huge, involved review, or just a "It was cool. Hope you update soon."


	10. If This Isn't Love

Well, after nine chapters in a romance story, I'm finally putting some romance in it. I like the slow burn stuff, and even I thought I took me sweet ass time getting to it. Well this chapter is going to have some Shino/Mori in it. Having Shino being romantic isn't really a very believable thing, so I will do my best to make it good, but keep it in line so people aren't thinking he's OOC. Don't worry, there will be no drivel love confessions, or triple X sex scenes. I don't operate that way, especially with Shino.

And thanks to Amura, who is betaing this for me.

Okay, disclaimer. I don't own the Naruto concept. But I do own the Daimyo, Setsuna, Mori, Hosaki and Mouretsu (may these last two rest in peace). I also own Kekkon, who hasn't made any major appearance but will eventually. Though if Masashi Kishimoto wanted to use these characters and story line, I would let him happily. Then I would wake up from my dream because I know that would never happen in real life.

Good joke though.

Chapter 10:If This Isn't Love...

It was a curious feeling, to be in love. Mori had never experienced it before, at least in the sense she was thinking of it now. She loved her father and Setsuna. She loved her people; but the feelings that were beginning to bubble up because of Shino, they were different. He made her feel secure and good about herself. She wanted to be near him, and just spend time with him. Perhaps they really weren't different, just intensified to higher degree.

So here she was, sitting in her room with him not too far from her, wondering just exactly how it was that she would tell him.

He was being quiet, more so than what she was use to, and leaning out the window as if looking for something.

"What are you doing?" she eventually asked, just to break the silence.

"Having some of my insects wait outside, incase someone tries to approach the house," he answered as he drew back inside. "I want to make sure that all of the possibilities are covered, just to reduce the risk of being caught by surprise."

"You really think somebody might come after me here?"

"It's a small chance, but it is there," he told her. "But don't worry, it is highly unlikely. The Hokage would not have suggested the plan if she thought it would have failed. And I will be here, so even if something does happen, I'll keep you safe."

"Thank you," she said softly then bit her lip. Would now be a good time to tell him? She knew the longer she waited the more nervous she was going to get. "Shino?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... do you think I'm doing the right thing?" she asked. "I mean, about marrying a ninja and forming an alliance with this country so we can create a new Hidden Village. Or do you think that I'm making a mistake?"

Shino didn't answer for a moment, but seemed to think about his answer.

"You want only to help your people," he said after a little while. "And there is something you should know about this Village. The Hokage we follow, we follow because we want to. There is no one in this Village that is forced to respect her. We do so because we believe in her. The same will be true in your land. They will not join the Village Hidden in the Plains if they do not want to. But I believe they will be accepting of the idea, because I think that your people would respect and follow you for the same reason that we follow our Hokage, because they want to."

"You really think so?" she asked him.

"I would not have said so if I didn't," he assured her.

She smiled.

"I think they would need a man they would also respect and be willing to follow," she commented softly. Fingers played nervously with the hem of her skirt. "Have you considered going to my land?"

"The Hokage said that mostly Chunin would be there temporarily. I highly doubt I would be sent," he answered her. "Although, a few younger cousins of mine are Chunins, so they may very well be chosen."

"Shino," she said as she stood, gathering her resolve before she decided against what she wanted to say. "I've been thinking about a lot of things since I was kidnapped. I've thought about my father, my country and people, about the situation I'm in, and I've been thinking about you and how you make me feel. I want to with you, because I think... No, I know I'm in love with you. So, would...would you please exchange wedding vows with me, and have me become your wife?"

Shino didn't give a response at first, but Mori didn't advert her eyes, determined to look him straight in the face, showing him everything. In reality, she was terrified that he would reject her, but she forced herself not to say anything else and give him time to gather his thoughts. After all, she had been rather sudden, blurting out her feelings like she had.

"You should get some rest," he told her. "This day has been hard for you. And you haven't had any food either. There are still people around. I'll have one of them bring you food."

"It's okay if you don't love me," she lied after he turned away from her. "I can accept that. But won't you tell me?"

Shino paused for a second, and looked back at her.

"Such a thing should be asked of my father, not of me. I'll be gone for a moment, but I'll leave a few of my insects here for you."

Mori watched him go and heard the door shut with a soft thud. She sat back on her bed and wished he would have had at least the courtesy to say no to her face.

It would have hurt a lot less.

---------

Shino hadn't known what to say when he heard Mori's request. Usually he knew his words so well, well enough where there where times that he did not even have to use them. He knew how to express himself and his thoughts in the simplest explanations, the fastest way to get someone to understand. And he could use that to show what he only wanted other people to see, and keep the rest to himself.

But what she had said, it had just short of baffled him.

He hadn't shown his shock of course, though he knew it had come at the price of sounding cruel. He had not allowed her a shred of hope, just crushed her heart and not spared it a second glance, like it had just happened to be under his foot at the time.

If Shino had meant to make himself to feel guilty with such a thought, he had succeeded pretty well.

But as much as he wondered at the guilt, he thought more on why he felt it.

Considering the conversation he had just had with her, it wasn't all that hard to figure out. He cared for her, in some fashion or another. It would not even be a stretch to say that he liked her. Her company was enjoyable, and she made pleasant conversation, but it had never meant more than that. And maybe that was because he had never thought of it as a possibility.

He had known she was to marry someone else before he had even known her name, or what she had looked like. Even if Shino had been the romantic type, he would have known that it would be a pointless venture. As Shino was, he had never thought about it period. After all, as far as he knew, he had never even been eligible for the marriage. He was the heir of the Head of the Clan as his father's only son, but his family didn't work politics in such ways. They would not have jumped at the Daimyo's offer like everyone else had. It was more of his clan's style to wait by the sidelines, and only get involved when needed or asked.

To have become attached to her in such a way would have been a foolish thing to do, more up Kiba's alley than his own. So he had stayed in the back, protected Mori as he had been ordered to, and had never given a thought to the fact that she seemed so much easier to get along with than most people.

He had thought it had been working, but there had been the flare of ill comfort when he had heard of her announcement. He had thought that it had been because of Sasuke. It wasn't that he disliked him or anything like that, but he had learned to be wary around the man, for he was a cold one and had betrayed the Village once.

Shino sighed softly as he knew that he could have gone his whole life without coming to this realization. What he felt for the Princess was certainly not the typical feelings he had for his friends either. But was it really love?

She had sounded so sure of her own feelings, and so hopeful for his. But what could he really have told her?

"I thought you were suppose to be watching me," Mori said from the open door. She was not looking at him, but he was pretty sure she was wondering why he was standing there.

"I am," he said. "That's why I haven't left. I was just waiting for someone to pass by so I could-"

"Don't lie to me," she said to him. "You just don't want to be here. And after what I did, I can't blame you. I was being selfish."

"Why did you come out here?" he asked.

"Because I knew that you wouldn't leave, that you'd stand out here feeling awkward so you could think and I'd still be safe. You are not that difficult to figure out." She sighed. "Shino, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just jump this on you. But I wanted you to know so badly."

"I was surprised," he admitted. "It was sudden."

"I kind of just figured it out myself," she explained. "Will come back inside? I'm not really that hungry."

Her stomach rumbled at this, and Shino could not help himself. He laughed. Softly, but he still laughed. It was amazing how warm this girl could make him feel on inside. He saw her pouting and placed one hand under her chin to tilt her face up.

"Go back in your room Mori," he instructed.

"Will you come back in too?" she asked.

He nodded and she obeyed hesitantly with him following behind.

"You don't have to worry about this," she said as she turned around to face him. "I don't-"

He cut her off by placing a hand gently to her face, his fingers just barely grazing her lips. He could feel her sudden intake of breath, and see the confusion in her soft eyes

He knew his answer. If this wasn't love, than there was not a word for how he felt for her.

"Let me talk to my father," he said softly but he knew she could hear him clearly. "I'm sure I can work it out."

The surprise on her face would have been comic if not for the seriousness of the situation.

"Really?" she asked. "You're saying yes?"

"I am."

He was prepared this time as she threw herself at him and hugged him. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her and knew just how precious she really was. His commitment was serious, and he was more than sure that his father would say yes.

Minutes passed by before either of them moved.

"May I ?" she asked as her hands trailed from his back and up to his face, fingers resting on his glasses. He nodded once and she slowly slipped them off and tucked them into his pocket. Biting her lip, she pulled his collar and hood down as well, her trembling fingers tracing the sides of his face.

"Shino," she breathed softly, wondering at the feeling that was suddenly burning in her and warming her insides. She felt light in his arms, and yet so desperate to stay this close to him. Eyelids fluttered closed, even though she was so happy to see his face, and she felt him kiss her in such a sweet way that it made her insides melt.

---------

The Hyuga compound was impressive, even to Setsuna who had grown up in a palace. Servants and ninja were everywhere, and she could not help but feel self-conscious. Even Sakura, who looked like she knew her way around somewhat, seemed to be daunted slightly by the obvious show of wealth and power. But while the kunoichi was just smiling and doing her best to seem polite, Setsuna went rigid, and looked straight ahead, knowing by upbringing the proper way to act in such a place.

Eventually they had reached what Sakura told her was the main household and went inside.

"Sakura. How nice to see you."

The two were greeted by a young man with long brown hair in a white robe and black pants. As he approached them, his eyes swept to meet Setsuna's. She held the gaze, and saw the silent challenge in it. His pool-like eyes seemed to pierce her body and made her feel as if she was being left defenseless somehow. Yet she saw in him as well, saw the soul of a warrior, so much like her own. She felt immediate respect for him, and not just because his presence seemed to demand it. It was like on some strange level they were alike, though she did not even know his name, and could not figure out how she felt such a way.

"Hello Neji," Sakura said in her chirpy manner, seeming oblivious to what was passing between the two, or perhaps just ignoring it. "We're looking for Hinata. Have you seen her?"

Neji finally broke the contact between the samurai and himself to regard the other ninja, and Setsuna suddenly found the wall opposite of her very interesting. Somehow in their silent exchange she had forgotten how to breathe.

"Lady Hinata is currently getting ready for the celebrations that will be happening soon. Why?" he asked.

"Mission from Tsunade," Sakura said, careful about her choice of words since there were others around. The fewer people who knew the plan, the safer it seemed to be. "We need Hinata's help."

"I'll collect her for you. But first, who is she?" he asked as he indicated to Setsuna.

"My name is Gisei Setsuna, a samurai from the Land of Meadows," Setsuna replied, refusing to let Sakura talk for her. "I'm also the bodyguard of Lady Zenkon, the Princess from that country. She is why we need Hinata."

Neji regarded her for a moment longer, taking her in, until he nodded and turned away.

"Wait here. I'll get her for you."

The two women watched him walk away. Sakura looked over to Setsuna, questionably.

"You okay?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You were giving him a pretty intense look."

"It's nothing," she replied. "I take it this Hinata girl is someone important?"

"Heiress to the Head of the Main Branch," Kiba said from the doorway, Akamaru following behind him. The man walked in, whistling a tune, showing off how comfortable he was here. "Just about as important as anyone can be around here."

"You're in a better mood," Setsuna commented, not really wishing to get into it.

"You sound disappointed," he shot back, but not with any of his usual heat in his comeback.

The two looked at each other for a moment, decided it was a draw, and looked away to ignore the other. Akamaru on the other hand, padded over to Setsuna and rubbed his head against her leg. She looked down at him curiously and then awkwardly patted him on the head. His tail thumped against the floor as his tongue wagged, happy with the attention.

"He likes you," Kiba noted, actually a little surprised.

"I suppose," she said back. She didn't really have much experience with dogs, or any other animals for that matter.

"Kiba!"

The happy cry caught the attention of all three people and made them look up to see Hinata smiling and running to them over a long hemmed white kimono. She gave her friend a hug, who happily returned it as he intentionally ignored the whispers of the other Hyugas around. She then stooped over to give Akamaru the same treatment.

Kiba looked back at Setsuna, who was now staring at him, nearly trembling. But when he looked up at her, her eyes snapped over to Neji who was walking up to them at a slower, and more respectful pace.

"Perhaps you should inform Lady Hinata and I about what is going on," he said. "We should talk somewhere else."

---------

"Well, that's about it," Sakura finished up. Setsuna had not wanted to talk so she and Kiba had taken the time to fill in the two Hyugas about the situation and what was being asked of Hinata after they had gotten to a smaller and more private sitting room.

"I'd be glad to help," Hinata said to the group. "If the Hokage thinks that I'm best for this mission then I'd be proud to do so. I'll be meeting the princess soon I take it?"

"Soon as we get back," Kiba informed her.

"I think I should go too," Neji said suddenly. "If you're going to be a target, than I insist on being there to ensure your safety, Lady Hinata."

"You saying we couldn't handle it?" Kiba growled at the man. He had never really liked Neji, even after he and Hinata had been able to get over their differences and started to get along. Kiba had always thought he was smug dirt bag.

"I'm fine with it," Setsuna spoke up suddenly. "Personally, I think it'd be a good idea. Any kind of force could strike at the party. The more prepared we are, the better." She did not add that she understood how this man must be feeling, to want to protect this Hinata woman that seemed special to him for some reason. She did see Kiba looking at her in a way that screamed shock and anger. A little thrill went through her, the part of her still feeling sore about her forced confession gloating in her petty revenge.

"Welcome to the team," she said to Neji and shot a look back at Kiba that clearly said, 'I don't need or want your permission so shut up.'

"Well, this isn't good," Sakura mumbled.

"What isn't?" Hinata asked.

She sighed. "Tell you later. I'm going to need your help with this anyway."

Hinata just looked lost.

---------

Mori had long since been fed by Shizune, who had the foresight to pass by with some food, and was resting in bed when the others came back. She greeted Hinata with a smile and the two immediately took to each other as both Kiba and Shino had somehow known they would. Eventually Shizune came back to collect the others for a quick meeting right before the party, and all left except for Shino, Mori, and Setsuna who declared that she would stay until she had to leave.

The princess didn't object, despite her sleepiness, though she wasn't much company as she was soon slumbering peacefully in her pillow.

"I take it you don't care if she's not awake," Shino commented from where he was sitting close by to her in a chair.

"I'm fine," Setsuna replied from her place on the floor, legs crossed and head leaning against the wall. She was actually just enjoying the peacefulness of the quiet room, and didn't care to break it. "Thank you for protecting her while I'm gone."

"It's my duty," he told her. "Though I can understand your frustration about tonight."

"I don't mean just that," she said, not even looking over at him, but instead just keeping her eyes lazily on the ceiling. "I meant this entire time that we've been here. I haven't actually been with her as much as I should have, running off on my own more than once, and then letting her get kidnapped. I've been horrible to her."

"I'm sure she doesn't think so," he supplied.

She said nothing, only shrugged. Shino took this as the invitation to just let silence reign and he gave it to her. This had really been the first time they had ever talked, besides the little thing that had happened in the forest, but they both understood that there was not always time for words.

"She seems to trust you a lot," Setsuna finally commented, if only to get the thought out loud. "And I'm happy to see her smile. At least I know she's safe with you, and not that man Sasuke."

"You dislike him." It wasn't a question.

"He made Sakura cry," she answered, as if it was just simple logic. "Though other than that, I really had no opinion. I can't imagine Lady Zenkon was too fond of him either, considering she asked the Daimyo to break it off."

"She did?"

"For Sakura, she said. I must admit, it seemed a little surprising to me, to do it for one girl that she had never even really met. But that's just the sort of person Lady Zenkon is," she said. "If there is a wedding, there are always more suitors."

"She asked me," Shino informed her, not seeing the point in lying about it, or trying to keep it hidden.

"What?!"

Setsuna's reaction had been no less than what he had been expecting, though he had hoped she would have been able to keep it down to a volume that was suitable for indoors. He causally looked back over to Mori to see if she had awoken, but her eyes were still shut and her face still peaceful. She must have really been exhausted.

"You don't approve?" he asked, though he hardly cared. It would be easier if the samurai gave her blessing, but it was not at all required in his mind. It was only for Mori that he even bothered to ask.

"No," she said with a shake of her head then caught herself. "I mean, I don't know. You two did spend some time together without me around, so I don't know what happened. Still, it's just... rather out of the blue."

"I thought so too," he said.

"How did you answer?" she asked, and she knew she sounded far too interested, but he was tactful enough to let it slide. She had long since lost her relaxed pose, and was sitting straight up and staring at him.

"I said yes. Of course, I will have to speak with my father about it. I don't see any complications in this though," he informed her. "He's a reasonable man."

"Do you love her?" she asked.

"She said she loves me. I believe feel the same for her," he said.

Setsuna seemed to ponder this for a moment and then shook her head.

"If that's true, then I have no objections." She paused. "Who else knows?"

"Only you so far. I'm sure the others will learn of it soon enough. I plan on taking her to meet my father if all goes well tonight."

Setsuna stood and adjusted her coat.

"Well, then I should make sure everything goes as it is suppose to then. Take care Shino."

"Take care, Setsuna," he replied as she walked out, not missing the fact that the samurai was smiling faintly.

---------

I just LOVED doing this chapter. I'm so proud that I was able to write an in-character romantic Shino. It's there, no matter how small it is.

Though I have to admit I was surprised with Neji and Setsuna. It just came out that way, I swear, and I liked it so I won't change it. Does Sakura think there's a possible love triangle? Yes. Will she try and fix it? Yes. Will Kiba get pissed off at Setsuna, Neji, Sakura, and the world? Oh, hell yes.

Will you review? I certainly hope so.


	11. I Hate You, So Why Am I Jealous?

The last chapter had a little bit of a delay to it since I had a convention that I was going to, so this is a sort of apology for that. I wrote it up and posted it as quickly as I could, and I do think it's a good product, even though it was slightly rushed. This has the teeniest, tiniest Naruto/Hinata in, which I hope everyone enjoys. There will be more later on, as it will tie into the story, but for now, think of it as a sample of what's to come later. And I threw in some Setsuna-and-Kiba-getting-angry-at-one-another-even-though-they-can't-just-admit-they-might-just-like-each-other, just for your enjoyment.

And again, special thanks to Amura who is betaing this for me. Although I'm sure she only does it so she can get sneak peaks at what's coming before everyone else can, I still appreciate it, because it's always riddled with errors before she fixes it.

Chapter 11: I Hate You, So Why Am I Jealous?

As shocking as it should have been that everyone took Tsunade's announcement without questioning it, Setsuna was very grateful that it had been so easy. She had thought telling them that the groom was sick and unable to attend had been a half-baked idea, but everyone took it in stride, some even whispering to themselves about the heighten of the mystery. The people of the Village seemed easy to buy off, or perhaps just trusting, but it did rub Setsuna slightly the wrong way that everyone just accepted the party was still going because Tsunade wanted it to. It did not paint a good image of the Hokage in her mind, even if the story was helping to keep Lady Zenkon safe.

'Just what kind of booze junkie is that woman?' she thought callously in the safety of her own mind as she stood out in the loud streets with the other members of the party. The celebration was already in full swing, even though night hours had just started, and despite the looming threat, the atmosphere seemed to demand them all to have fun. It kind of irritated the samurai, though she said nothing.

"Well," Kiba said from his bottle of sake that he had been quick enough to grab from a group of people that had passed by, "here's to tonight." He bent over slightly to give Akamaru a sip.

"To tonight," Sakura beamed and nudged Hinata, who had long since taken the guise of Lady Zenkon, dressed up in white silk kimono with a red sash. "Drink up Princess, you're getting married soon."

"Oh, I don't know," Hinata said as she gently pushed the bottle Sakura had away. "I really shouldn't."

"That's right, Lady Zenkon," Setsuna said as she moved closer to the 'princess'. "A woman of your standing must keep her stature."

"Of course," Hinata said and then whispered to the samurai, "How am I doing?"

"Beautifully," she answered. "You're very similar."

"Though you shouldn't have to ask," Neji interjected sternly. "Please remember to keep your place, Lady Mori. I'm not the only one who can read lips, or hear whispers. It's highly unlikely that it will cause too much damage, but we should still strive to be careful."

Hinata's head hung slightly and Kiba looked pissed, but the moment slid on, everyone knowing better than to take the conversation farther.

"Guess you guys need help after all. Slip up like that again and the whole mission goes up in smoke," came a voice.

The circled group turned to see a woman with long blond hair tied into a ponytail. She was dressed in fine purples, ninja gear on her, and had a slightly mocking, yet oddly friendly smile in her lips. Next to her stood a grumpy, bored looking with spiky brown hair tied up as well, and a blond man with markings on his face that Setsuna guessed were tattooed whiskers.

"Geez, what a pain," Shikamaru noted. "You're not doing much better Ino. Why not just broadcast it out loud why were here?"

"Are you all quite done yet?" Neji asked coldly. "You're all Chunin or Jonin. Act like it."

"What are you guys doing here?" Kiba asked.

"Having some fun," Naruto said with a goofy grin. "And Sakura invited us."

"Invited me, you screwball," Ino put in. "You two were just around at the time, and I figured it might be easier to have you along than telling you to shove off."

"I recall you dragging us by the ear," Shikamaru grumbled. "And just so you know, I'm here under protest."

"Protest noted," Ino replied then eyed Setsuna wickedly. "I'm Ino by the way, and this is Shikamaru and Naruto. So, you gonna introduce yourself?"

"Why?" Setsuna replied before turning away to address Hinata. "Lady Zenkon, how would you feel about getting something to eat? Perhaps a sweets stand?"

Ino seethed as Hinata slowly nodded, and turned to Sakura as the group started to move to somewhere that they could eat.

"What's her problem?" she snarled.

"Oh, she's always like that," she replied off-handily then leaned in close. "Actually, she's the one I was telling you about. The one with Kiba."

"He's dating her?"

"Pretty sure, but actually, that's why I wanted your help. She's got this whole disliking ninja thing going on, and I think it's putting strains on their progress. We need to come up with a way to loosen her up, and possibly get them some alone time," Sakura said.

"Leave it to me," Ino said as she grinned. "Hey, wait!"

The others looked back to back at Ino, who strode up to Setsuna confidently.

"Before anything, don't you think you should get yourself a change of clothes?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" the samurai asked perplexed.

Ino looked at her up and down and sighed.

"Look at yourself. You're a mess," she explained. "Your outfit is dirty and I can tell one of your sleeves are missing from underneath the coat, which by the way, really shouldn't be buttoned up to your neck. If your gonna be having some fun, you need to lighten up and get a new outfit."

"That's ridiculous," Setsuna snapped.

"No, she has a point," Sakura said quickly, catching up to what Ino wanted to do. "We should buy you something to wear. Don't you think so Mori?"

"Oh. Well, I suppose it does seem a little-"

"See, even the princess agrees," Ino cut in. "So let's us girls pick you out something good, and the boys can just wait for us. Come on Sakura. Mori, probably best if you stay with the guys to mingle."

"Hey, wait a minute," Setsuna protested as Ino and Sakura grabbed both of her arms and dragged her away from the group, Hinata nodding her head and Shikamaru shaking his in exasperation.

"Relax," Ino replied as she released her grip once they reached a nearby clothing store. "This is all part of the plan."

"What are you talking about?" Setsuna snarled out. "Why are we splitting up into smaller groups for something as stupid as clothes shopping? Just what are you trying to pull?"

"Did you forget that we're trying to get attacked here? We want to make ourselves look off guard," Ino told her.

"That's right," Sakura followed up, glad she could keep up with Ino's flair for manipulation. "Its like Rule Number 17 of Shinobi, 'To set a trap, the bait must be desirable, at all costs.' The more off guard we look, the more some one is going to be tempted to attack us."

"So why did we split up if we're planning on getting attacked?" Setsuna snapped.

"Because anyone following the group is going to be after Mori, so we can talk about this freely now, while the larger group still has the princess. We're in close enough distance we can hear any commotion and then can get there in time," answered Sakura.

"Yeah," Ino agreed with a nod. "Like the conversation we had when I showed up. It was planned out in advance between the others and me. You didn't actually think we'd make that many slip ups at our level of training? We're not Genin or anything. Though we let everyone who might be watching us know something was up-"

"The true details weren't exposed," Setsuna finished. "I'll admit this whole business is rather tactically being taken care off. But I should warn you that samurai and ninja think differently. If there is a samurai waiting to attack, then they won't need to be tempted. And I still think going shopping is pretty stupid. My outfit is fine, and taking time to change could cost us."

"Then you'll just have to do it quickly," Ino replied. "Don't argue. We're already here."

---------

"I don't see why I have to wear this," Setsuna grumbled. "It's too short."

"It's fine," Ino replied as she looked over her handy work. "It's the only dress they had that you'd still be able to move around in easily anyway."

"But why a dress?" Setsuna asked. "I could have just bought a new shirt and a pair of pants."

"No, no," Sakura said. "I like it. Practical, but attractive. It's perfect for tonight. Also, the shop keeper agreed to hold your change of clothes for tonight, so you can just get your coat back later on."

Setsuna looked down at her outfit and cursed herself. In her opinion, she looked ridiculous. What Sakura and Ino had finally talked her into was a short, black, sleeveless dress and a white vestment that tied up right on top the swell of her breasts and tails trailing down near the back of her ankles. Her usual belt and sword hung from her hip, and she had to admit that at least she would still be able to fight in the outfit, should the need arise. They could have tried to force her into a kimono. Other than that though, she felt foolish.

'Just who do I have to be attractive for?' she thought bitterly, even as they made their way back to the rest of the group.

"Took you long enough," Shikamaru commented as Naruto wolf whistled and Akamaru barked happily.

"Doesn't she look nice?" Sakura asked. "Hey Kiba, what do you think?"

Setsuna saw that Kiba was staring, and wished he'd stop. Why did he have that weird look in his eye? Was he still dwelling on what she'd told him earlier?

"It is becoming," Neji interjected before the dog ninja could even respond. "Though, not seemingly your style. It might have been better to stay in your first outfit. But enough about that. We should get going. And I can see you, by the way."

The last comment had been made to Kiba, who had just stuck his middle finger up at Neji behind his back.

"Get bent," Kiba growled. "It looks fine on her."

Sakura would have liked to do a little victory dance right there but instead stepped between the two to keep a fight from breaking out.

"Come on," she said quickly. "Let's just get some food."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered and pumped his fist in the air. "I vote for ramen!"

"You're kidding, right?" Shikamaru asked. "I'm in a serious need of sake. And from the looks of it, so is Kiba."

"Sounds great," Kiba muttered as he stalked off with Akamaru in tow. His arm had slung around a surprised Hinata's shoulders and drug her, protesting softly, along with him. "Come on princess. I know all the great places around here."

---------

Setsuna wished she something would happen already. It had already been an hour for the group wandering amongst the streets of the Village, loud noises all around them. All of the venders of the stalls in the festival were trying to sell snacks or toys or convince some body to try their game to win a prize. The noise was grating her nerves, and she wished that whoever might attack that night would do it and get it over with. She wanted to capture this person and be done with it, so she could go back and reassure herself that the real Lady Zenkon was safe.

Of course, that damn dog ninja wasn't helping things much with him hanging all over Hinata like he was.

Watching Kiba being so friendly to someone who at the moment looked exactly like Lady Zenkon, it was making her feel very angry. Did he even care what kind of image he was making right now? Anyone who saw was surely going to start thinking that he and Lady Zenkon were an item, which would prove to be a problem once the real Lady Zenkon and Shino announced they'd be marrying. She could only imagine the mess that would make.

But in the festive air Kiba had come close up to Hinata and kept breathing soft things in her ear. It was really pissing off the other woman. Especially since no one else was even paying it any mind.

'Is he trying to prove something?' Setsuna thought angrily. 'We're in the middle of a mission and he's flirting with his girlfriend? Trying to shove in my face how he's happy and I'm alone? Dammit, stop it Setsuna! Right now isn't the right time to be thinking about Ryou. You have a job to do. Just concentrate on the mission. He obviously isn't going to.'

"You're worrying needlessly," Neji said, coming up next to Setsuna. "Kiba is very well trained. He's keeping his mind on the mission, even if it doesn't seem like it."

"What?" Setsuna asked back, not too terribly afraid of being overheard. The noise was loud as it could be from the partiers, and even those at in their group weren't really paying attention to the two. Ino and Sakura were busy whispering amongst themselves while Kiba was still with Hinata and Akamaru. Naruto was bouncing up and down like someone on a sugar rush, and Shikamaru just looked disinterested in the whole world.

"Besides, even if Kiba is being foolish enough to distract himself, I assure you, I'm not," he told her. "You shouldn't be either."

"Why are you telling me this?" Setsuna asked.

"Because you were getting upset for a pointless reason. And if anything happens tonight, then your mind needs to be clear," he explained to her. "The same thing with your princess. I'm sure she's fine. Hinata actually seems to be a dead on for her personality, aside from little bouts of shyness."

"How did you know that-"

"You keep glancing over at the Hokage's mansion," he told her. "I understand that you're worried, however your mind should be here. It's a greater possibility we'll be attacked than her."

"You're very observant," Setsuna stated as she studied the road, ashamed of getting caught.

"It's a talent that runs in my bloodline," he replied. "Nothing escapes my eyes."

"I should be keeping my mind clear," she replied then paused. "How likely do you think that this won't work?"

"Honestly," he told her. "Highly. You know the way of samurai better than anyone else her, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that an attack will be tried the same day as a failed attempt. It'd be more effective to wait and try and find an opening or weakness to act on."

"It depends on the circumstances," Setsuna answered. "Our job is to die if it will accomplish our goal, but we are never encouraged to throw our lives away. I don't think they'll wait for long to try again, and if there are more than a few left then they most certainly will attack us tonight, despite the numbers we have. After all, it would only take one to get through our barriers to kill Lady Zenkon. However, if there is only one or two left, then they can't afford to miss again. As it is, there really isn't enough information to work with. We're in the dark."

"Then what would you do, if you were the one trying to accomplish an assassination?" he asked.

"I'd do whatever it took," she replied softly, not liking the answer even as it came from her own mouth. "Our duty is not to live foolishly, but die honorably. If I had to die to get my target, I would."

Not too far from the two talking warriors, Sakura was beginning to get worried, even as she was discussing things with Ino. Setsuna and Neji seemed to be lost in conversation, and a deep one at that. They were pretty much talking as quietly as they could, and neither she nor Ino could hear a word. She glanced quickly over at Kiba, who despite walking ahead with Hinata, kept glancing at the ninja and samurai in the rear, angry glares on his face whenever he saw them.

"Just what kind of relationship do these two have anyway?" Ino grumbled. "Here I thought this wasn't going to be a problem, but it's like those they enjoy trying to piss the other one off."

"I know," Sakura sighed. "It didn't help that Kiba was so insistent on giving Hinata so much attention tonight, but now Setsuna probably thinks he's just going to ignore her. Jeez, why'd he have to act like a match maker tonight?"

"You mean like you're doing?" Shikamaru interjected dryly. "Just let them be. Like they really need you two in their hair right now anyway."

"Shush up Shikamaru," Ino snapped. "You just don't understand girls. Sakura said herself that Setsuna admitted to being with Kiba, obviously she's going to pick him. Neji is just getting himself in the way."

"Whatever," he sighed. "You girls do what you want, just don't get carried away."

"If we could only get them alone or something," Sakura stated. "But it looks like tearing them away from their present company might be a little tough."

"Tell me about it," Ino mumbled. "Setsuna looked like she would have liked to cut Kiba's head off a moment ago, but now he's all pissed off because she's talking to Neji."

"Hey," Kiba's voice cut through suddenly. "Take a look at that."

Everyone looked over at what Kiba was pointing at and saw a game stall. Several bottles were piled in threes on shelves and behind them were several stuffed animals, firecrackers and other toys. Kiba, looking as ecstatic as a little kid and ran over to pay for a ticket.

"Kiba, what are you doing?" Setsuna asked, sounding annoyed.

"I loved this game when I was younger," Kiba said as he picked up his first ball. "I've just gotta try it." Smirking over at Naruto, he nodded his head over to the stand. "Betcha I can get more knocked over in a row than you can."

"Oh you're on, Doggy Breathe," the blond said confidently as he strode over and paid to play as well.

"G-good luck... Naruto," Hinata said shyly.

"Thanks," he said with grin. "I'll win you something nice."

"Yeah! Knock him dead, Naruto!" Sakura called, getting a little caught up in the childish competition.

"Hey," Kiba snorted, sounding insulted. "Isn't anyone gonna cheer for me?"

"It's not as if it'd affect anything," Setsuna commented. "Just hurry up and win, so we can get going, alright?"

Kiba snorted as Akamaru barked in encouragement at least. Bending over, he patted him on the head and promised in his head to get the dog some nice treats on the way home.

"All right!" he growled as he hurled the ball at the bottles. They smashed on impact and the pieces clattered to the floor. The stand keeper stared in shock as Kiba turned to Naruto challengingly. "Beat that."

Several minutes later the stand keeper had declared he'd give them both any prize they wanted, if they'd just leave and stop destroying his game. The two had been a little pissed about not having a real winner, but since none of the others felt like judging the two, they had reluctantly called it a draw.

"Here, for you, Princess," Naruto said with a goofy grin on his face. He was holding out a stuffed toy to Hinata, who took it as she blushed as red as a tomato.

"Isn't that ramen?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at it. Sure enough, it was no more than a plush toy that looked exactly like a bowl of Naurto's favorite food. "Only you'd give away a gag gift like that, Naruto."

"It's not a gag gift," he replied a little sulkily. "I really thought she'd like it."

"Oh no, I love it," Hinata quickly tried to assure him. "It's wonderful, really." She hugged it against her chest, just to prove to him how great she thought it was.

"I have to admit, that's actually kind of sweet," Setsuna commented dryly to Neji, who only shook his head.

"It's hard not to approve of a simple minded action like that," he agreed. "And to be honest, there probably isn't anything greater than getting ramen from Uzumaki Naruto, even of it isn't real."

Sakura looked over to Kiba, who pocketed whatever he had just won.

"Hey, what'd you get?" she asked him.

"Nothing," he replied gruffly. "It doesn't matter." A glance over at Setsuna made his expression seem more sour than usual, and he growled and turned away, his bad mood back after his little game.

He was glad that he had been able to convince Hinata to go over and talk to Naruto, but now that he was thinking about it, he would have actually liked the company of his friend tonight. Even among the celebrating crowd, he was feeling anxious and he knew it was about what he had learned from Setsuna earlier. He had tried to distract himself, but it was only getting worse. He wanted to talk to Setsuna, to discuss things with her, but every time he looked over, Neji was within arms length of her. And worst of all, she didn't seem to even mind.

'What the hell is wrong with her?' he thought to himself as Sakura continued to talk. 'Isn't she even slightly worried about Mori?'

"Maybe you should go up and talk to her."

'There's such a high possibility that her past might have some kind of link to what's happening now, and all she wants to do is get close to Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass?'

"You know, it's okay if you want her to yourself."

'So much for "I don't trust ninja cause I got hurt in the past".'

"I can tell it's bothering you."

'What's so different about me and him?'

"Kiba, are you listening to me?"

'I had to force her to talk.'

"Kiba, will say something? Grunt a least."

'Bet she'd tell Neji everything if he even asked.'

"Hello, anyone in there?"

'What the hell does she like about that asshole anyway?'

"OH WILL YOU JUST TALK TO HER, YOU MORON?!"

Everyone whipped around to look at Sakura, but she looked less than embarrassed from her outburst. Instead she grabbed a shocked Kiba by the ear and drug him over to Setsuna and Neji. Strangely enough, Akamaru did nothing to rescue his master but was instead helping Sakura by pushing his head against Kiba's back and shoving him along with the pink-haired woman.

Everyone was too surprised by the little image to comment on how out of place it seemed, though Shikamaru did let out a small "Oh my god," and Naruto barely stifled a snicker.

"Sakura? Wha-"

"He wants to talk to you," Sakura interrupted Setsuna, who had never felt more confused. But as she let go of Kiba, her face looked so serious, that it made Setsuna realize now was not the time to question her. Something was obviously wrong. "Alone."

"Well," Setsuna said as she regarded Kiba. "Should we go and talk?"

The dog ninja glared right back at her, trying to burn a hole through her forehead with just his eyes. Just what the hell did Sakura think she had been doing, grabbing him like that? And what was up with Akamaru to be helping her out? Any other time he would have bitten anyone who had laid unfriendly hands on Kiba.

Though now he had his opportunity to talk with Setsuna, what he had wanted to do from the very beginning. He could voice everything that had just been running through his head, and even had an excuse to do it alone with her. But suddenly he didn't want to. The way she was looking at her so expectantly, as if he hadn't just been drug over here, made the last thing he wanted to be was alone with her. It still felt too awkward, knowing what he did about her. An urge hit him to tell her that he had no idea why Sakura had done what he did, which was actually true, and just go back to brooding.

No. He was fucking Inuzuka Kiba! He didn't crawl away from his fears like a little coward. He was no whipped puppy, and he wasn't going to act like it in front of everyone. Instead he reached forward and slipped one hand around Setsuna's and started to walk away, leading her to a place where he knew they could get some privacy.

But a strange thought occurred to him as they walked. One that floated around in his anger-clouded mind, and kept rage from completely taking over.

Just why had he started to hold her hand?

---------

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I loved that! I totally loved that! And just the slightest bit of a cliffhanger for you guys to wonder about what will happen between those two. This chapter sort of reminded me of one of those romance/comedy movies that people watch, even as they're thinking, "Why don't those two just sleep together and get it over with?" Especially with Sakura involved. The little bit with her and Kiba made me chuckle, so I hope that everyone found it musing too. Inner Sakura kind of taking over there for a minute.

Well please review so I know what you think about it.


	12. Please Don't Say It

Nothing to really say about this chapter, I'd be too afraid of giving something away. So I'll just get right down to business.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd tell you. But I don't, so don't worry about it.

And as always, thanks to Amura, who is my beta and kept this from looking like a piece of crap with all of it's spelling and grammar errors that I just can't seem to find on my own.

Chapter 12: Please Don't Say It

Setsuna was not usually very happy anymore. There were times when something or someone could make her truly feel good about the world, but it wasn't often. She had seen Naruto act like a child in a park and had wondered about how he seemed ecstatic at every little thing. The man must have never known real pain, never had to experience what it felt like to feel crushed and abandoned, to be able to be so carefree that it made him look like an idiot.

But Setsuna could not say that she felt particularly happy about what was happening to her at that moment. She was being led through the crowd of ninja and civilians, and some stopped partying long enough to look at Kiba and her, with Akamaru trailing behind, and wondering just what was going on. She knew how foolish it must have seemed, her all gussied up and Kiba holding her hand and trying to find a place for privacy.

His grip wasn't firm, and she could have pulled away if she had wanted to. She knew instinctively though that he would probably just take her hand again no matter how many times she snatched it back. So she let him hold her, his touch gentle as if he was afraid he would break her, and let him silently know that she would not leave but simply follow where he wanted to go.

Thoughts about how far they were going from the group didn't even occur to her. Kiba had wanted to talk alone, and Sakura had been the one to insist that Setsuna to go with him. It wasn't hard to figure out just what this was about. After all, they were the only two that she had confessed to, the only two that she knew of that knew her secret. If Kiba wanted to talk about it, she wanted to make sure they were far from any possible eavesdroppers.

Eventually she found herself in a clearing, far from the buildings and the noise and even the lights, with Kiba along the edge, keeping anyone from wandering too close to them. If it had not been for the moon and stars she would have been unable to see at all. She wondered briefly if Kiba, with his ninja training, or perhaps his unusual talents that made him seem more like a canine then the man she saw before her, could see better where they were then she could. She had seen him during his fight with Hosaki, displaying strength she had never seen, and afterwards tracking down Mori with his nose as Akamaru had done. She supposed that his sight might be better as well, but since she had no idea if that was true of a regular dog, she had no room to guess either way.

Still, in the shadows she could make out the outlines of three posts in the ground amongst many trees and bushes. It looked as if it were some kind of training ground, a place where no one would be during the night of celebration.

"Well?" she asked Kiba, who had dropped her hand some time ago but had not yet turned around to face her. "What's so important that you have to talk to me about it?"

"Are you stupid?" Kiba exclaimed angrily as he spun around to glare at her. "Are you concerned with this mission at all?"

Setsuna stared at Kiba for a second, completely caught off guard by this accusation just thrown out so randomly. So shocked she was, that she forgot to even get angry with him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him. "Of course I'm concerned about this mission. What in the world would make you think I'm not?"

"Oh I don't know, how about you drooling all over Mr. I'm-Such-Hot-Shit Neji?" he spat out. "You're spending so much time getting close to him, you're not even paying attention."

Setsuna didn't forget to get angry this time.

"Excuse me?" she shot back. "You're the one who's goofing off on this mission. You were the one betting over stupid little children's games. I didn't drag you off away from the group we're suppose to be with to guard someone just to yell at you and make stupid accusations. I wasn't drooling over anyone, and even if I was, you're hardly one to talk, considering how you were hanging all over you're little girlfriend."

Kiba, to his credit looked a little confused.

"Girlfriend?" he asked. "What are you talking about? Hinata's not my girlfriend, that'd be like dating my sister. I mean, granted when we were younger I had a small crush on her, but she's interested in Naruto, so I got over it a long time ago. I was just trying to persuade her to talk with him."

She shook her head.

"You know what, I don't care about your personal affairs. The only thing that matters is this mission."

Kiba snorted as she turned away to go back and she whirled around again to glare at him.

"What now?"

"Look, if you want to act like he doesn't get your attention, fine. But don't expect me to be deluded enough to think that when you keep staying so close to him."

"Did you just bring me out here to accuse me with your nonsense? You really think I feel anything for a man I just met," she hissed. "Have you forgotten what I told you just hours ago?"

"NO!" he yelled so suddenly that it made her jump. "How could I forget? What happened to you was so horrible, I've been trying to get it out of my mind for hours. And you seemed so angry when all I was trying to do was help, and now Neji comes along, and your whispering to each other nonstop, looking so damn cuddly."

The two stared at the other for a while, not sure what to say. Kiba wasn't making any sense. Why in the world was he so angry? What did he care who she got along with or not? He had forced her to tell her most guarded secret, and called that helping? He didn't understand anything. And on top of that, he felt he had the right to tell her who she could and couldn't talk to. She wasn't putting up with this.

"I had my heart torn out years ago," she told him calmly. "I don't want Neji, in any shape or form. I simply felt we had some things in common, our position in our families, our status, our attitude. But it was never anything more than that. I don't know why that bothers you, but it's none of your business in any case."

"I'm just worried about you," he said softly, a tone that she was unaccustomed to hearing. "I...I'm afraid for you. What you told me, it's been bugging me ever since. I just want to make it all better, but-"

"But you can't," she finished coldly. "You've had to live with this for a few hours. I've been living with this for years. Don't go trying to get sympathy from me."

She lowered her head and gave a clenched her fists.

"I don't know what to do, Kiba. I have no choices left. I want to go into that forest and find this traitor myself. But I need to be here. I can't tell anyone information that may be important, because that would involve admitting the fact that I betrayed my family. What if there is someone that survived? What if my cowardice gets my princess killed? And you can't deal with the fact that you can't make me feel better about it? Well guess what, I don't need you to make it better. I'll keep the princess from being killed on my own."

Kiba had wrapped her up in a hug so fast that she tried to hit him to break away. But his grip was tight and even as she beat her fist against him, he whispered into her ear how it would all be all right.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her, or you," he told her firmly when she finally stopped struggling against him.

"Let me go," she whispered. Her heart was beating so fast it hurt. But he simply shook his head and smiled into her hair.

"I don't know," he said. "You might get violent if I do."

"I'll get violent if you don't," she growled warningly.

"It'd be worth it," he whispered in her ear. She froze, feeling his hot breathe on her neck, and he lowered her face to hers.

"Kiba don't," she said warningly.

"Why not?" he asked. "I just want to help you."

"This isn't real," she said. "You just feel pity for me. Just want to prove that not all ninja's are trying to hurt me."

"Think what you want," he said before he kissed her.

Setsuna didn't struggle, despite how she wanted to. She wanted to scream at him, to yell, to tell him what an arrogant bastard he was and that she wanted nothing to do with him, but she didn't do any of those things. Instead she groaned and opened her mouth to him, reveling in the velvety feeling of his tongue against the caverns of her mouth. Hands gripped the back of his head and pulled him closer crushing their bodies together and Kiba growled in approval at the use of force.

No, this was anything but gentle, anything but sweet. She wanted him, and it was just as true the other way around. He gripped her waist possessively, but Setsuna wouldn't have tried to get away for the world. Lips began to trail at her skin, nipping and biting at her neck and she pulled him down onto the ground with her, all common sense forgotten.

"Kiba," she gasped as he moved one of his hands to the center of her breasts to untie her vestment.

"Don't talk," he said shortly then began to work his way to the other side of her neck. She nearly bucked her hips into him when he deftly licked the hollow at the base of her throat. "Damn, you taste so good."

His hands felt like they were spreading fire across her skin as he ran them all over her body. The pressure of him on top of her made her want to scream, if felt so good, better than it had ever felt before. One leg hooked around his waist and brought him down onto her, and he groaned at the sudden closeness and began to rub himself against her.

She should have pushed him away, should have remembered this kind of thing is what had hurt her before. But she didn't. She wanted to forget, even worse than Kiba had said he wanted to. He could make her forget, could make her feel this carnal need that made everything else go away, even if for only for a short while. Everything else seemed so small, so unimportant, in his embrace and she drank it up greedily.

"Setsuna," he breathed suddenly as she unzipped her coat and pulled it off his shoulders. Fingers traced the wound he had been given earlier that day, the bandages already removed, and kissed it suddenly.

"You got this because if me," she whispered and he only nodded because where she had begun to rub her other leg. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said softly. Breathing was getting difficult for both of them. "I wanted to help you. I... I don't like the idea of you away from me."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to be mine," he answered. "Even before ... oh yeah, right there... I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt. When those three attacked you..."

But she silenced him with a kiss. She was getting tired of words. She didn't want to hear anymore, she just wanted to feel him.

"Let me make love to you," he gasped when he pulled away from the kiss.

And suddenly she felt like cold water had been thrown in her face. Angrily, she shoved him off of her and pinned him to the ground.

"Take that back!" she hissed at him. "You didn't say that!"

"I-"

"No!" she yelled. "No, don't say it again, please."

"Setsuna, what the hell did I do?" he asked bewildered.

"This is just physical," she told him. "There's no 'love' involved. I don't care about you!"

"I think you do," he said as he stared up at her. "I know I care about you. I wouldn't have done half of what I did for you if I didn't. I know you were hurt before, but I'm not like that, and you know it. I just want to help you. I won't hurt you."

"You already have," she retorted. "You couldn't just help me forget, you had to say that. Had to make this seem like it's more than it is. Well, I have news for you, I don't love you, and I never will."

"So you would have let me sleep with you if I had told you that it didn't mean anything to me?" he asked, letting the implication set in.

"Shut up," she whispered.

"No!" he snapped back. "No, now you look here. I wasn't the one that hurt you. Why won't you just let me get close to you?"

"You can ask that? After everything you've heard. I don't want you to get close to me. I want-"

"You want to be able to use me and not expect anything in return," he interrupted.

She stood quickly and tied her clothing.

"This didn't happen," she snarled at him. "I've had enough. I don't want you anywhere near me Kiba. I'm not about to let myself go through all over again. I'm going back to the others, and I don't want you anywhere near me."

"Setsuna," he started as he got up to try and follow her, only to find a katana tip pressing threateningly against his chest.

"You're the only one who knows my secret that I know of," she told him. "Give me a reason to do it, I'd love one."

"I just want you to trust me," he whispered.

"Why should I?" she demanded.

"Because you said you wanted to. Didn't you say that it didn't matter to you whether it was ninja or samurai? I just want to help," he reasoned.

"I don't care," she told him. "I don't want your 'help'."

"Setsuna..."

"Don't!"

"I do love you."

She glared at him, wishing him nothing but ill. She wanted him to feel just the fraction of how she felt. The pain, the confusion, the anger. But no, he could just act like it would all be okay just because he wanted it to be. He had no idea what it was like to be her, to know her pain.

She lowered her sword, a dry sob echoing in her throat.

"I don't love you," she cried as tears began to flow from her eyes. "I don't."

He said nothing but instead gathered her up in his arms, kissing her softly, tongue slipping past her lips. She shoved him away, sheathed her sword, and wiped her mouth, looking as revolted by his touch as she could muster.

"You know, Ryou always told me that I could trust him too," she spat out. "Maybe you should get a different line. You sound too much like him anyway."

Kiba watched her walk away, presumably back to the group. He thought for a moment of following, but sighed and decided to forget it. She didn't want him near her. Fine.

"Shit," he snarled.

He'd really messed up. What had possessed him to say such stupid things to her? Setsuna didn't trust him, and anything he did to try and help her would just be thrown in his face. He didn't even want to try and impress her any longer. What was the point? She'd just accuse him of trying to get close to her in order to do something sinister.

The scent hit his noise a second before Akamaru was suddenly at his side, growling and barking at something behind him.

"Quite a little minx, isn't she?"

Kiba looked around and saw, just in the shadows of the trees, a man. He was leaning against a tree as if he owned the place. The dog ninja immediately disliked him for some reason.

"Who the hell are you?" Kiba asked before he realized. This man had been the one who had killed Mouretsu. He reeked of the smell of blood, so strong to Kiba's nose that it made him want to be sick. Some even stained the clothes that Kiba could see in the moonlight. And Kiba knew, just from the way he stood and chuckled, that he wasn't a friend.

"Here on the account of Setsuna?" he asked. "It was quiet the little show you put on. I was wondering if she was going to let you pin her."

"That's none of your business."

"I can't help it if the girl's a little slut," the man replied with a chuckle. "I was hoping a little prompting would bring her about, but I guess she still insist on putting her faith in ninja, amongst other things. Little fool, but ah, I guess that's what makes her so desirable."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kiba snapped at him.

"She'll never trust the ones that want her to trust," the man replied. "Keeping you at arms length, not even realizing that it makes you want her more, until you're so desperate to be near her that your willing to do anything for her to make her look your way, even if the look only holds pain. Surely you understand how that must feel, after all, you look like you'd like nothing more than to hurt me for just saying that."

"Just who are you?"

"A man from her past. One that hurt her to get her attention."

Kiba's eyes widened.

"Ryou?" he asked unbelievingly.

"Oh, she told you about what happened?" he asked, sounding amused. "Well, if that'll get her to me, then you can tell her whatever you like. Who knows, maybe she'd sleep with you in appreciation. She's a bitch to ninja anyway, though I never would have said that literally before now."

Kiba howled in rage at he insult and charged with Akamaru. But the stranger had already been planning on the attack and had his katana plunged into Kiba's shoulder by the time he had reached him. Akamaru skidded to a stop on seeing his owner hurt.

"I'm not going to kill you," Ryou whispered. "There's no profit in that. But know this. Setsuna is mine, and mine only. Tell her that I'm here, and I'll let you be."

Kiba grabbed the blade in his skin and wrenched it out, making the man stagger back.

"I'm not going to do anything you want," Kiba threw back. It was twice in one day that his shoulder had been hurt, but he pushed past the pain. Whatever Setsuna had seen was wrong. This guy was most certainly alive, and dangerous. And there was no way he was gong to let the woman get near him, not when he could just kill him now and be done with it.

"Are you planning on fighting me?" he asked. "I don't think that's wise. I could crush you."

"Shut up! Come on Akamaru!" the dog ninja yelled as he stared to form the hand signs.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Ryou snarled. "Prepare to face my most deadly technique! Thousand Sword Cut!"

It felt as if the winds had suddenly picked up and in an instant, before Kiba could even see what his opponent had done, he was thrown backwards, crashing into and breaking several trees until he landed painfully on his side. Soft whimpering sounded somewhere nearby, letting him know that his dog had received the same treatment, but he couldn't see him. Red had obscured his vision, and he could feel blood seeping from his forehead into his eyes.

"I'm not... let...ing you touch... her," Kiba panted, though it was getting harder to form words. He could tell that he'd been pretty badly hurt, maybe even a cracked rib or two. It was hard to even stay conscious.

"I don't think it's up to you," he said simply as he approached. "You don't have the strength to stop me, you couldn't even beat Hosaki without Setsuna's help. And would you like to know something?"

"What?" Kiba snorted at him.

"Setsuna is even stronger that me," he whispered. "You're lucky she's fallen in love with you, or she would have killed you before. And to think, there was a time when her duty meant everything to her. Poor girl, she use to be so efficient."

Kiba glare at the man, a final act of defiance before he was hit over the head and knocked into unconsciousness.

---------

Okay, I've revealed what's going on at last, and gave everyone a juicy little make out scene to appreciate. Now I have a bit of bad news. I'm not going to be updating in quiet a while. I've got a lot of personal stuff that I have to take care of, and I barely had time to squeeze out this chapter with everything going on.

THIS STORY ISN'T BEING ABADONED!

I promise that I will do my best to get back to it, but right now I just have more important things going on. I just wanted to let everyone know so you wouldn't think I'd abandoned it or you readers. When I can start writing again, I don't know, but without going into boring details, it'll probably be a few months. Again, I'm sorry and hope that with any luck I'll be able to get back to this without too much effort, cause I really like this story and everyone who had reviewed it.


	13. Revalations

HELLO LOYAL READERS! AT LONG LAST MY TRIUMPHANT RETURN HAS COME! MWA HAHAHAHAHA!

Heh, sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Well, happy holidays everyone and how are you all doing? I suppose you're all wondering why I just stopped writing this story so suddenly without any real notice. Well, the long and short of it is that I joined the army in order to better my life. I finished Basic Training a little while ago and am currently in AIT. Right now I'm back home for the Christmas holidays but I will soon be back and training again. I'd like to say that I'm going to have the free time to get back to this, but it's all very up in the air right now. I will however, do my best to write as much as I can before AIT since computers aren't allowed to be owned by soldiers while there in training. And I promise the minute I get permanent posting I'll be writing as much as I ever did.

'Till then though, I hope you enjoy what I've been able to write under the circumstances.

Chapter 13: Revelations

Setsuna didn't bother going back to the group. It was pointless to bother with. This whole mission was fruitless. No one was going to attack that group. It would have been done by now. Samurai didn't waste time, didn't try trickery by waiting for an enemy to become drunk or tired. A victory meant nothing to her people if it were under such circumstances, and as much as that bitch Tsunade thought she knew what she was doing, she was a drunken idiot who couldn't understand how samurai thought if her life would depend on it.

'But her life doesn't depend on it,' she thought bitterly. 'Lady Zenkon's life depends on it.'

Setsuna stopped and looked up at the sky. She was in an empty street, far from the partying or the noise. A lamp post flickered on and off, seemingly desperate to cling to life, though the low crackling showed it was a loosing battle. The stars and moon shown behind little wisps of clouds and twinkled down at her, as if promising her something she could have never hoped for.

"Why?" she asked angrily to the empty air. "Why does he claim he loves me? I'm not worth it! What can I offer him, what can I offer anyone?"

The chill of the air was trying to soothe her, trying to force her to calm down from her rage. But it was only replaced by regret. She had been so cruel, touching him like that, and then shoving him away for declaring his feelings. He was right, she had just wanted to use him.

"Exactly what I tried to accuse you of Kiba," she whispered.

There was no excuse this time, no way to pin it on someone else. This time, it had been completely her fault, not his. She had agreed to talk with him and had slapped him down when it hadn't been her rules he wanted to play by. And really, who'd want to play with her? In her game no one could win, not even her.

She sighed. Should she go back? He might still be there. But what would she say? I'm sorry? It didn't seem like it would really do that much good, and it would no doubt seem more selfish than anything. She didn't feel as if she deserved his forgiveness either, even if he'd be willing to give it. And besides, if she went back to apologize what would he think then. That she loved him?

"Arf..."

Setsuna's head whipped around at the sudden interruption and her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

"A-Akamaru?" she asked.

There before her was Kiba's dog, but something was wrong. He didn't seem to be standing properly, and...

"Where's Kiba?" she asked shakily. "Akamaru, what's wrong?"

The dog simply limped over to her, and she could feel horror flood her. Sh head left some time ago, and gone a bit of a distance away. He had come all this way to get her on that leg? Gently he took the hem of her skirt in his mouth and began to tug.

She didn't ask again. She ran, and somehow the dog despite being hurt, kept up with her. How he must have loved his master to be so willing to go on when he was hurt.

'What happened?' she thought wildly. 'How did I get someone hurt this time?'

Her answer lay there on the edge of the forest, right where she had left him. Kiba, laying in the grass, completely still.

"Kiba?" she asked softly. Her feet felt like lead as she took suddenly slow steps towards him, not wanting to see what had happened. How could this...And she had only left less than fifteen minutes ago.

She knelt down next to him, could see the blood already sticking to his forehead. The sight made her want to be sick, made her feel helpless. He wasn't moving at all.

"Sakura," she whispered. "I have to get you to Sakura. You'll be okay."

All anger she had felt at him was gone. She didn't give a damb right now about what he had said, or what she had either. None of that mattered right now. She had to get him back.

She wasn't going to be the reason another person got hurt.

---------

"So there was an attack last night," Tsunade concluded. "But not on the group we wanted."

"No," Sakura answered. She still remembered Setsuna coming to the group, Kiba and Akamaru being carried on her back, still moving despite the weight, begging for help. It had scared her, the look an near insane desperation in the samurai's eyes, as if the man had been dying. It had taken Neji and Naruto combined to tear her away from Kiba long enough for Sakura to tell the woman that the dog ninja would be fine, and that all he would need was some simple medic justus.

It made her a little sick to her stomach that she had been the reason why they had left in the first place. She should have kept her head together and realized despite what kind of fun she had been wanting to have, they had still been on a mission.

"This is more serious than I thought," Tsunade murmured. "Why would they have gone after Kiba and Setsuna instead of the decoy. Did they somehow know it was a trap?"

"What should we do now?" Shizune asked. "It seems any plan we come up with, it does no good. As if they're always a step ahead of us."

Tsunade sighed. She hate waiting the enemy out. She was a woman of action. But as usual, her lack gambling skills seemed to biting her in the ass. There didn't seem to be much they could do.

"From the commotion that Setsuna caused when she drug Kiba back, everyone knows something is going on now. I don't we really have a choice but to increase security around the Village. Before anything though, I'm going to talk with Setsuna. Where is she Sakura?"

Sakura paused.

"Well..."

---------

"You had no way of knowing."

Shino's word's didn't comfort Setsuna in the slightest. She wondered how he could even want to make her feel better, considering his own teammate was lying in a hospital bed, still unconscious since the night before and bandages wrapped around his torso. She sat in a chair next to the bed, watching the dog ninja for even the slightest change, not even paying attention to Shino or Lady Zenkon standing behind her.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" she asked, as if they could answer. "Sakura said he'd be fine. WHY WON'T YOU WAKE UP KIBA?!"

Her arm had swung across the bedside table and smashed into a vase of flowers. The porcelain shattered against her skin, leaving it cut and soaked in water.

"Setsuna!" Mori cried in surprise. She made to move forward but Shino caught her around her waist. She looked up him confused and he shook his head.

"Let her be for now," he suggested to her.

"Alright," she agreed softly. "Setsuna, we'll be waiting outside. If you need us-"

"Go see Shino's father," Setsuna cut her off, not even turning to look at her charge.

"What?" Mori asked. "Now isn't the time to be worrying about things like that. Kiba's been hurt-"

"For you," Setsuna reasoned. "This is all to keep you from making the treaty. You need to get this done as soon as possible. Don't worry about me, or Kiba. Please Lady Zenkon, you need to see his father."

Mori looked up at Shino, who still had her by her waist.

"Shino?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Well, if you think it's what's best. I have to inform my father first, but we'll head out soon, I promise. Please take care Setsuna."

The samurai did not reply to the princess. Instead she remained stock-still, never taking her eyes off of Kiba. With one last worried glance, Mori left with Shino.

She heard the door open and shut behind her, but she didn't turn around. Her hand stung slightly and she looked down at it. Bleeding slightly from the cuts, she just stared at it, as if it somehow had some kind of answer.

"Just how impulsive can you get?" Kiba moaned out jokingly as he slowly sat up. "...ow..."

"K-Kiba?" she asked surprised. "Kiba, how are you feeling? Are you okay? Is there something I can get for you?"

Kiba looked confused at the woman sitting in front of him. What the hell? What was she being so nice for?

"I'm fine," he answered and shook his head. "Where's Akamaru. Is he okay?"

"Sakura said something about a woman named Hana taking him to be cared for. Said she was some kind of veterinarian?"

Kiba nodded. "My sister. Must be at the house then. I'm sure she'll take care of him. How'd he seem?"

"I don't know," she answered. "He should be okay."

She swallowed and looked away, looking angry.

"I thought you had died," she whispered, not looking him in the eyes. Kiba, to his credit, was a little taken back. "When I saw you lying on the ground, for the slightest of seconds I thought that you were gone, and I thought it had been my fault. I couldn't deal with it, thinking of what I said to you."

"Setsuna?" he asked. He was a little taken back to see her looking so broken down. Had she really been that upset? He only frowned at her. This wouldn't do. He had to tell her, even if... Even if she hated him for being the one that told her. It's not like she didn't already.

"Setsuna, I have to tell you something," he said. "I know who's behind Mori's abduction. I met him last night."

She said nothing, just looked at him intently, letting him take his time. He studied her, trying to memorize just how caring she looked towards him, burn ever fine detail in his mind. He knew she'd never look like this for him again, not when she heard. She'd leave him, her anger forcing her to take her frustrations out on him again. But he'd take it, he'd lose her if it meant she was at least prepared.

"How sure are you that Ryou's dead?" he asked.

"What?" she asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"The man who attacked me last night, he claimed he was Ryou, and I think he was telling the truth. He knew all about you, what you had done, and what had happened to you."

"That's impossible," she told him. "I saw him die. My own father killed him."

"But how do you know for sure," he debated. "You could have fallen victim to a genjustu. It could have been some kind of illusion."

"It was a miracle that I didn't bleed to death," she shot back hotly as she shot up from her chair. "Why would anyone have bothered with putting an illusion on me?"

"Don't you think he would have done something to you in order to cover his tracks? Maybe modified your memories after you had passed out to make sure you didn't try to track him down?" he asked.

She looked down at him, biting her lip. He could tell from the look in her eyes, she didn't want to believe him, but she did.

"How sure are you?" she asked.

"He came right out and said it," he told her.

She bowed her head and he heard her murmur a small curse before she slowly turned away from him. Kiba let her go, not even attempting to keep her with him. He couldn't keep her, and this time he knew it.

"I'm going after him," she said as she looked out the window. "If he's here, than Lady Zenkon is in more danger than I thought. And I'm tired of running from his mere memory. If he tricked me into thinking he was dead, than he made a fatal mistake, letting me find out otherwise."

She turned to him curiously when he climbed out of bed and pulled his shirt and jacket on.

"I'm going with you," he told her before she could even ask. She opened her mouth but he cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Don't argue, okay?"

She looked at him wearily. He sighed. It's not like he should have expected any different. She still suspected him of trying to hurt her. He briefly remembered Ryou's words.

'Well, I'm not like that,' he thought. 'I'm helping her and I'm not gonna stab her in order to get what I want.'

"You're going to come no matter what, aren't you?" she asked sounding defeated.

"Yeah, well that's kinda how I operate," he told her with a shrug.

"I'm going to check on Lady Zenkon first," she said. "And I know you're worried about Akamaru. Why don't I meet up with you latter on?"

Kiba frowned. That didn't sound like the greatest plan to him.

She sighed at seeing his distrust.

"I'm not going to run off, okay? I just have to check on her before I do anything else. I trust Shino, but..."

"You don't have to explain," he told her. "Just as long as you don't run off."

"I don't think I could if I wanted to," she said with a soft smile.

"Huh?" he asked confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing that's important enough to explain right now," she said with a shake of her heed. "Maybe later."

There was still an air of awkwardness between the two. It hung over both of their heads and eventually Kiba scratched the back of his head and forced a small cough.

"Well, I guess I'll see you soon," he said.

Setsuna bit her lip for a minute and nodded. Then, without warning she kissed him softly on the cheek.

"You get hurt again, and I'll kill you myself," she whispered in his ear then backed off and swung leg over the windowsill to hop out the window.

---------

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE BOTH GONE?!" Tsunade yelled.

Sakura cringed slightly.

"Well, when I went in to tell Kiba that he would be free to go tomorrow, the room was empty," she answered.

Tsunade sighed and fell back into her chair with a flop.

"Shizune. Sake. Now."

---------

Arburame Shibi was not really all that different than his son in Mori's mind. In fact, the two couldn't have been more alike in her opinion. The same reserved manner, the way they could both explain themselves with only a few words, she could even see why Shino dressed the way he did. She would have giggled when she saw they were wearing the exact same kind of sunglasses too, if she had not been sitting in the meeting room with the man in front of her and Shino and her father both next to her.

"Father," Shino said from his place next to Mori, "Lady Mori and I wish to be married, in order to enact the treaty drawn up between the two lands."

It was hard to tell what the older man was thinking, and yet while she should have been used to it from Shino, Mori had never felt more unnerved by it. It felt as if her heart rate was going a mile a minute from her nervousness and not being able to see how he was regarding her made her fell a thousand times worse.

"The Daimyo asked this of you?" he asked.

"No, my daughter made the request," Mori's father replied. "She seems quiet taken with your son, and politics not withstanding, what better thing to set a marriage up for if not for love."

Mori bowed her head low to Shibi, trying her best to show her sincerity to the man.

"Please, Shino means a lot to me," she told him. "I've never felt this strongly for another person in all my life. Since being with him, I've learned how much I can accomplish with him by my side. We need only your blessing in order to move forward."

"Shino," Shibi said.

"Yes father?" he asked.

"You love this woman?"

Mori looked at Shino, actually anticipating the answer. He'd never really said so, one way or another. She had told herself that it hadn't mattered to her, but now that she could hear the answer, she did feel some form of hope building up in her.

"I do."

Only her royal bearing kept her from crying out in joy and hugging the man, but it was close. She however couldn't stop the small smile from appearing on her face and letting him take her hand in his own. For Shino to do something like that, it would have been so small and gone by unnoticed if it had been any other man, but for him, it was the ultimate show of affection.

Shibi was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Treat here well son."

---------

"You seem awfully pleased," Shino commented to Mori sometime latter. She had not stopped smiling since the meeting and had occasionally grabbed him from time to time in a hug or a kiss on the cheek. Shino endured the over-friendly attention, and was even smiling slightly behind his collar.

"I'm just so happy," Mori said. The two were in the courtyard, standing by a little man-made pond, watching carp swim around. "I never would have dreamed he'd agree so easily."

"There was never a problem from the start," he assured her. "Though it does seem as if you've made a good impression on him."

"I am glad he likes me," she said, calming down slightly. "He and my father should be able to come to an understanding easily enough, and then we can go home. Everything will be okay."

Shino was too kind to mention to her how it sounded like she was trying harder to convince herself of that then him. Things rarely worked out that easily, but he let her keep her fantasy if it would make her happy.

"They have been talking for a while," Shino noted. "I don't imagine they'll be done soon."

"Well, there's a lot to discuss," she said. "But that's okay, I like it here. It's pretty peaceful."

True to the young woman's words, it was a nice place to have a moment of quiet. There wasn't silence, instead soft buzzing from insects nearby and the occasional splash from the carp, but it was background noise, peaceful as she had said and it did have the effect of soothing one.

"No wonder your so mellow," she joked. "Growing up in a place like this would have that effect on anyone."

He smiled, something he seemed to be doing a lot of ever since she had met him.

Suddenly a scream pierced the air and Mori and Shino both whirled around to see a man dressed in dark colors standing in the courtyard. He had a servant girl that could not have been older than twelve in a vice-like grip and his katana pressed to her throat.

"Greetings little Princess," he said politely. "I'm sorry to be a bit rude letting myself in like this, but I'm in a bit off a hurry, so would you mind coming with me?"

"How did you get in here?" Shino asked.

"Well, I had a little help," he said with a shrug, "but the girl here wasn't hard to persuade."

"Master Shino, I'm sorry," the servant said through her tears.

"Don't worry Jegan, you'll be fine," he assured her. "It's pointless to ask why your here. I suggest you leave the girl alone, using her as a shield isn't going to help you."

"Oh I don't know one way or another if you're heartless enough to let the girl die or not, so using her as a shield isn't really what I had had in mind," he replied. "Think of her more as a bargaining chip. If the Princess doesn't resist, then I let the girl go."

"Why are you doing this?" Mori asked.

"Oh, I'm hurt Princess," he said. "You don't remember me at all? Here I thought all the time Setsuna and you spent together with me around, you would have had a better memory for my face."

"What? No, it can't be," she whispered. "You died that night."

"Who is he?" Shino asked.

"That's Kekkon," Mori breathed out in disbelief. "He's Setsuna's older brother."

---------

Confused yet? I know I sure as hell am.

Lol. Kidding, kidding. I promise this will all make sense soon enough. I know it's cruel to leave you with such a cliffhanger and I don't even know when I'll be able to post another chapter, but I will do my best to get back to you. Lots of love, and hope you review.

Oh, and I didn't have time to send this to my beta, so it hasn't been proof-red. Hope the spelling errors that might have been in there didn't detract too much from the story. I tried my best to keep it clean, but if there are a lot that I somehow missed, I promise that I will get it taken care of as soon as possible.


	14. Loss in the Family

Greeting readers

Greeting readers. I suppose it would be too much to hope that I have any fans that still care about the outcome to this story, but I am hopeful. Let me tell you it has been one rocky year for me. I joined the army, got through training and was about to be shipped off only to get my legs hurt in an accident in which I'm still recovering. I still limp from now and then, but it's not too bad. Well, unfortunately I was kicked out with an honorable discharge, and found myself with a big now what question floating around in my head.

Well, a long story short is I'm now back on track of everything (Yaw me) and am now back to writing. This story never truly left my mind and has always bugged me now and again to make sure that I wouldn't forget it so I'm going to do my best to finish it. Truthfully, it only had so many chapters (and an epilogue) left before I went crazy and decided to join the military. Some idea that was. But I do have much more sympathy for those writer who have a fantastic story that you read through only to find it half finished and a last update date on it that's so old that it's not only dusty but growing mold too. Its not that you suddenly stop caring, it's just that life gets in the way sometimes, as much as you hate it to.

Still, I'm glad to be back, and hope that you're glad about it too.

Chapter Fourteen: Loss in the Family

The words of recognition had barely left Mori's lips before life seemed to explode. Everything happened so fast she wasn't sure just where she'd come from, but Setsuna had suddenly tackled Kekkon from the side knocking him to the ground as he looked up at her shocked. The girl was released and shoved to the side where Shino was instantly at her side to scoop her away from harm.

"Murderer!" Setsuna yelled angrily as she wrestled with the man on the ground. His sword lay useless on the ground, and she seemed so angry that she had forgotten that hers was resting on her hip. In fact, Mori had never seen such a rage come over her bodyguard before. It was terrifying how her eyes seemed livid with hatred. Setsuna often got angry, but it had never been like this.

"How dare you!" she yelled as she rested on top of the man, one hand pinning his throat to the ground, her other raised and clenched into a fist, as if to suddenly punch him at a moments notice. "How dare you take his face, you sick twisted monster! Are you getting some pleasure out of this, or is it some kind of job again? Talk you filth, or I'll tear your fucking head off!"

"Setsuna?" Mori whispered. "Wha-"

But whatever the princess said Setsuna didn't hear. She'd heard the scream as she entered the courtyard at the front, and followed it, only to find him here. How much farther was Ryou willing to take this, how much deeper was he going to twist that knife into her stomach?

"Talk," she growled. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not answering to you, little traitor," he snarled at her and for a second she was surprised. What was he talking about? Unfortunately he took the moment to swing at her, knocking her to the ground and dazing her for a second as her jaw throbbed. She swiftly drew her sword, blocking the katana that was only a second away from slicing her neck. The clash of steel felt familiar though, as did the presence of her opponent. She had sparred with Ryou many times before for fun, but she knew this wasn't right. That wasn't his stance, that wasn't his blade, that wasn't…

That wasn't Ryou.

"Kekkon?" she whispered for a second before she snarled. "No, he was killed. They all were. You can't have survived."

"Like you saw so much from where you were left bleeding on the floor," he spat. "I should have figured you'd be playing politics and trying to turn profit from all of this still. Hadn't your mighty Lord Joishen given you enough?"

Setsuna had no idea what was going on here. What was Kekkon… no, this man, whoever he was, talking about? Lord Joishen? He'd died two years ago. What did this person know of that?

Suddenly kunai knives flew past her as they slashed the other samurai. Some blood flew from his arm that had been cut, but not enough to keep him from fighting.

"It appears you could use some help," Shibi said from the door where he and the Daimyo stood. The feudal lord looked shocked, as did Setsuna and Kekkon who was gripping his arm.

"You should get out of here," she yelled. "Please Lady Zenkon, Daimyo you need to leave at once. This man is-"

The sudden impact of a kick to her stomach made her scream as she hunched over. Her old wound, he'd gone for it intentionally, she realized, as her head was wrenched up from where she had doubled over.

"I'd stay quiet if I were you," Kekkon snarled in her ear as a blade was brought very close to her throat. "You are not going to spoil all my work after so long. I'm going to kill you for your crimes, just as you deserve them. STAY BACK!" he yelled as Shibi tried to approach.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"I'm Kekkon, your brother, the man who you tried to kill with the rest of your family, even after I begged father to spare your life," he whispered in her ear. "And I'm the man who is going to slaughter you."

"Kiba said you were Ryou," she snarled back. "I know you're the one who attacked him."

"I said what I had to to get your attention, and he was easy to rile up. All I had to do was act like your dead lover, and he practically promised me he was going to tell you."

"That was a mistake," she told him.

"What, lying to him? It's barely worse than what you've done."

"No, letting me get this close to you while I still have my sword."

She didn't scream as she plunged her sword into her own flesh. She knew the pain was already coming, so it lessened it somewhat. And she had only sliced through her side, right above her hip, so she wasn't in too much danger. But Kekkon hadn't seen it coming as she felt it go through her and hit him as well. Figuring from where he had been standing, she knew she must have hit something very close to his own stomach, and her satisfaction dulled her pain as he gasped from behind her.

"Bitch," he snarled as he hit her on her head with handle of his weapon, knocking her almost instant unconsciousness. She was fairly sure she heard a scream as her eyes slid closed, but she couldn't do anything about it. She'd been so pathetic.

--

Setsuna had woken to the sound of sobbing before, and it was still as unpleasant as it had been two years ago. God, how had she failed again? What had happened? Had Lady Zenkon…NO!

The pain gripped her almost instantly as she shot up to a sitting position from where she'd been lying, clutching at her stomach desperately, as if the action would suddenly make it stop.

"Setsuna."

The samurai inclined her head to the left to see her charge sitting next to her on the bed, eyes wide and red with tears that were streaking down her face.

"Oh thank God," the Princess whispered. "I thought I had lost you too."

She suddenly broke down into more tears and buried her face in her hands sobbing. The moonlight shone through the window of Setsuna's room, showing the dissolved state Lady Zenkon was obviously in.

"Lady Mori," Setsuna whispered horrified as she ached. "What do you mean too?"

It took several minutes for the young woman to compose herself but the samurai did not rush her. Dread was filling through her and she had a horrible feeling she knew what was going on.

"He's gone," she replied quietly. "Kekkon killed him and ran. They tried to catch him but it didn't do any good."

"Shino?" she breathed out but Lady Zenkon shook her head.

"Father is dead," she told her. "And Kiba told me everything."

Setsuna would have sputtered to try to explain, but the horror of what was going on made her stay silent.

"The wedding is off, and the Village has been informed there's a killer here. No one is going to let him go. As for us, Sakura said you'll be ready to travel in three days. We'll be leaving then."

"Lady Zenkon," she managed. "I'm so sorry. I swear I never meant for this to happen. I just couldn't stand the thought of you hating me, the thought of loosing you on top of everything else."

Despite her tears, the royal child smiled softly and traced Setsuna's cheek with her fingers.

"I know," she whispered. "I know it wasn't your fault. You were tricked, and whether I had known or not, he still would have come back. I'm not sure of everything that's going on, but I know that you didn't do anything wrong. For that to have happened to you, and for me to have been unaware this whole time, I should be begging you for forgiveness."

Setsuna opened her mouth to protest, but Lady Zenkon silenced her with a hug and then stood.

"I'm going to be staying in my own room. Guard are everywhere, so we shouldn't have anything to worry about." Setsuna was too kind to mention that it looked as if her charge would like nothing more than to have Kekkon show up and finish the job of killing her along with her father. Lady Zenkon looked so guilty, she must have thought this was all her fault, simply because she was the one to wed. "We can discuss everything in the morning."

She watched her walk out and shook her head in shame. After all this time the truth was finally out, and Lady Zenkon was the one to say she was sorry. How pathetic was that, that she could not even take the blame herself? What did Lady Zenkon think she had to be sorry for? It had been her own mistake that had killed her lord.

"Setsuna?"

She almost sighed in relief.

"Come in Kiba," she said. The door slid shut behind him as he drew closer to her, settling himself down on her bed. "You told her?"

Kiba nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Everything was a mess when I showed up. Shino was trying to comfort Mori as she was freaking out, and someone had found Sakura and Tsunade so they could tend to you. They'd tried to save the Daimyo, but it was too late. When we got back she was so scared, I just had to let her know why this was all happening. I know I promised you, but I was so scared you were going to die, I wasn't thinking straight, and I knew by this point keeping it all secret was blown out the window."

"It's alright," she replied softly. "I would have done the same thing in your place. I can't blame you for doing what was right."

He didn't reply.

"How's Akamaru?" she asked.

"He'll be alright soon enough. He won't be doing any fighting for about a week or two, but its no where near as bad as it could've been."

"I'm glad," she whispered before she placed her face in her hands. "Oh god, I have no idea what's going on anymore. I don't even know if that my brother or not. Even if it is, why is he doing this? All he mentioned was a dead cousin of the Daimyos, and I have no idea how any of this fits."

"Shh," he whispered as he enveloped her in a hug. "There's nothing to worry about now. He's going to get caught, I promise. Everyone is out looking for him, and now we know he's here. He won't be able to sneak around for long."

She hugged him back and buried her head in his chest. This all felt wrong. It wasn't right.

"I feel tired," she whispered.

"It's been trying on you," he told her. "Mori told me you were up all night to watch over me, and then you had that fight with whoever that asshole was. Even though you were unconscious all day, I don't imagine it was very restful."

"It's not that," she said as she pulled away from him slightly. "I'm tired of everything being so hard, so complicated. I'm tired of making mistakes about everything. The only thing I've done right is the fact that I was able to make it in time to save Lady Zenkon, and even then I can't know for sure if I really helped or just made it worse."

"Setsuna," he started.  
"No," she said. "It's true, I haven't made a single right decision since I've come here, you included."

He looked at her confused, but it was nothing compared to when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full in the mouth.

"Setsuna?" he asked shocked.

"Please Kiba," she asked him, "I know that I have no right after all that I've done to you, but I love you. I don't know when it happened, but I love you so much it hurts. I'm sorry I was too scared to say it before, it wasn't right."

"It's alright," he said as he shook his head. "I… just don't worry about it, okay?"

"Kiba?"

"Yes?"

Setsuna swallowed and leaned forward to kiss him. Warm lips met hers and didn't resist her as her tongue slipped past and into his mouth.

"Make it go away," she whispered when they parted. "Just for tonight. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I don't want to face this night alone. I can't stand the thought that I might loose you, and I… I just need to be shown you won't leave."

She never would have imagined he could be so gentle as he laid her down, kissing her along her jaw line. It felt even better than it had before, maybe because it was more than just pent up frustration and lust. They needed each other, and this time they needed more than just the other's body. There was a silent reassurance in his touch that let her know that the whole world could fall down around her, but he'd still give her this night, and she'd still have something that let her know that she hadn't lost everything.

--

The morning came faster than Setsuna liked, but she didn't fight it. Silently she dressed in the gloom of the early morning. The sun hadn't even fully risen and a soft mist rolled out along the ground out her window.

Her old clothes had been brought to her with her shirt mended, probably yesterday as she had been sleeping, and she slipped them on instead of the dress. Kiba had told her over and over how beautiful he had thought she'd looked in it last night, but she had no need for it now. No, Banished belonged on her back and nothing else.

She wanted to write him a note, let him know where she was going, but she couldn't risk it. He looked as if his sleep was light, and couldn't have him waking up with her still in the room. He'd try to stop her, or worse, go with her.

Not that she didn't want him to come, but she had questions she needed answering, and she knew she needed to talk to Kekkon one-on-one if she was to find out anything. So she slipped away and out of the house, wondering if she was coming back. She had thought she was going to die so many times, but found this time the prospect didn't scare her. She wanted to stay alive, to be with Kiba and Lady Zenkon, but she wasn't finding the alternative too horrible at the moment.

She was going to do her best to survive this. She wanted to live, but sometimes people didn't always get what they wanted.

The streets were empty and quiet as she walked through them. Her steps weren't hurried, even though she knew they needed to be. Her body was hurt, and as gentle as Kiba had tried to be, he hadn't completely avoided where her bandages had been placed. She needed to take her time or else she'd never make it at all.

The forest scenery greeted her when she reached it. She didn't need to be a tracker to know this is where he had hidden. Her brother had always been the type to stay right out in the open. If she had been him, she would have hid in the most obvious place, trusting that no one would even think to come there. After all, who but a major fool would hide where their dead partners had been discovered only das ago?

She eventually reached the clearing that they had found Lady Zenkon held captive by Mouretsu, and sure enough there was Kekkon sitting on a large rock, waiting for her.

"I was wondering when you'd come," he said to her. "Are you prepared to make your penance?"

"You really are him?" she asked. "You are Kekkon, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I know you must think that I killed everyone, that I let Ryou do what he did, but it wasn't on purpose. You killed our lord. Why? Just to punish me?"

Kekkon gave a small snort.

"Please, that trash deserved to die, just as much as any other part of that corrupt family."

"What are you talking about?" Setsuna cried out. "The Daimyo was a good man."

"A good man! How dare you say that? He was a royal, a fool that throws away lives without any thought but how it can turn a profit for him, just like that sniveling coward Joishen!"

Setsuna looked bewildered. None of this was making any sense.

"Well, since you're insisting on playing dumb, I'll lay it out for you. Two years ago, after the mass murder of our family, there was an investigation held for who was responsible. Do you remember?"  
"Of course," she answered. "We wanted to consider it an act of war from the other country, but they claimed it was a band of rogues. We couldn't risk a total assault on them without any proof, and we couldn't find out who had hired them, so it was considered a lost cause."

"We gave up," he snapped, "because we had no choice. The truth is, I found out who was doing all of this the night of the attack. Joishen was talking to a ninja, arguing about the fight. Too many ninja were being killed, so they wanted to pull out. I knew at that moment what was going on. If the Daimyo died, then he would be in charge, Lady Zenkon too young to take the throne. I killed the ninja he was talking to and grabbed him, forcing him to talk.

"They were rogues that had been hired, that much was true, and as for why he did it, my suspicions were right on the mark. But what shocked me was what he told me about you. That you had led one of those scum in to bed with him."

"But you had already known about Ryou. It had been a trick, he claimed that he loved me," she objected. "I was wrong for doing it, and I will admit you have every right to want me dead, but Lady Zenkon and her father should have been left out of it."

"You stupid idiot, I know you were being used!" he shouted. "Of our whole family, you had always been the best, the most loyal, the most respected. I think Joishen had you seduced as some kind of joke, to prove that you could be corrupted. And to be honest, I didn't blame you for that regard. After all, who wouldn't want to be free from our family?"

"What?" she asked.

"I hated them," he whispered angrily. "Our whole family that was all about honor, fighting, servitude… slavery. We were nothing but pawns to the royal family, nothing but tools to be used in war and as bodyguards. Born into a role that we could only escape by running away and giving everything else up in return. I felt pity for you because you had almost been killed by our parents, just because you had a husband they didn't approve of. I wanted to take you with me when I ran that night, knowing it would be my only chance. I planned to collect you as soon as you were well enough to run because I knew that once they learned the truth they would have you killed.

"But something I hadn't expected happened. You became famous. People called you a hero, simply because you had had the dumb luck to survive. And you accepted it, lied in order to stay were it was comfortable. But as long as my little sister was well, I didn't argue. I didn't come back for you, because I knew you wouldn't come, and I would simply be stuck back in servitude if I were caught.

"So I accepted it, and wished you the best of luck, prayed no one found out your secret and spent the next two years along the edge of our country, were no one knew my face. But then I heard the news that our 'great and wonderful lord', the Daimyo who had lost so much, was going to make a nation one of ninja and not samurai. I instantly saw it for what it was. He wanted war. He wanted to still make that country pay for what they'd allegedly done. Get allies; create a supposedly stronger army, pit ninja against ninja. It was all to fight them. I cared little for the royal family that used us, or for the brat who would go along with whatever her father demanded of her, so I decided to take it into my own hands. I would kill the Daimyo and his daughter, just to make sure she didn't get it in her head to continue his work, and you as well, the little profiteer who would see everything fall around her just as long as she wasn't condemned. I wasn't about to let my whole land burn in war just for that fool's revenge. So I gathered some samurai who felt the same way, and told them the story. They both died though, but it doesn't matter as long as you pay. And as soon as you're gone, that little girl will fall all the more easily."

Setsuna swallowed and shook her head. Her chest burned from the accusations he threw at her, and the wounds on her midsection were screaming at her. But none of it mattered. It didn't matter to her that this was her brother, it didn't matter that all of that made sense.

It didn't matter that he was right about her.

"I'm not going to let you kill her," she said as she drew her blade. "The wedding isn't going to happen, and all traces of a treaty are gone. You've succeeded in whatever you wanted to do. But you aren't going to hurt her."

"And you're going to kill me to keep it all secret?"

"No," she said. "I'm going to kill you to keep her safe."

--

I don't think I could have made that more angsty if I had tried. But don't worry, it's going to all right. I hope this all makes sense now because I really wanted to make his character the bad guy, but somewhat sympathetic as well. He was supposed to be the kind of guy who thought he was doing the right thing, and that his sister was the one in the wrong instead of the other way around. As it is, I think I did an okay job with it.

By the way, the name for this chapter was actually borrowed from a Batman comic book that I had read once. It's when Jason Todd died, which was very sad, and I saw it in a bookstore just a couple of days ago being resold in graphic novel form. I was trying to think of a title for this chapter and it seemed right.

Originally I had meant to do more with the Daimyo (who never received a name I now realize) but it never seemed to fit. As it is, I felt like I killed off a character that never reached his full potential. But, well the guy needed to die for the story to keep going, so I guess it works out how it works out.

Well, I hope I receive reviews for this, and I hope that everyone is happy that I'm back. I would have loved to do a more cheerful chapter for my return, but I hope it was enjoyed nonetheless.

Oh, and a big thanks to me beta who fixed this up. I don't even want to admit how many red marks were all over it when she corrected it for me. Suffice to say, I was in a hurry.


	15. End of a Great Samurai

Well, here's chapter 15 of My Love for You. I know in comparison of the authors who have thirty or so, it's not a lot, but I'm pretty proud I got this far. As you can tell, it's getting to the end. I'm figuring one more chapter after this and then an epilogue, but that'll be it.

As you all know, I've never owned Naruto, but I do own my entire original cast, and that actually kind of makes me feel all right about the fact.

Also thanks to Amura who read this over and fixed up any problems there were with it. I'd have a lot less favorable reviews if it weren't for her.

Chapter 15: End of a Great Samurai

Setsuna had always been praised as being the best, she had always had the talents that had her family flock around her and tell her how great she was. But it had always been her brother's praise that she had loved the most. A strong young man, she respected him as a child and had loved their sparring sessions they would always have early in the morning.

But as her blade glistened in the soft morning light, she thought this seemed to be nothing more than a perversion of their old morning ritual.

"You should have just stayed away," she said. "I don't know if you were right about the Daimyo or not, but I'm not going to let you get past me. You are going to die."

"Ladies first," he snarled before lunging at her.

Steel flashed against steel as she blocked blow after blow. She gritted her teeth in frustration. He'd never been this good when she'd been younger. He'd gotten faster, and stronger from the looks of it.

"You hated being a samurai, but I see you never gave up the blade," she commented as she shoved him away from her, trying to ignore the burning in her stomach.

"I hated being a slave," he corrected. "Just as much as you did."

"Don't you dare lump me in with you!" she yelled angrily. "I was tricked, you're murdering out of cold blood."

"And that makes the body count any less horrible for you?" he asked. "Face it, your crime wasn't the fact that you were fooled, but that you thought only of yourself. I'm killing theses people to keep our land safe."

"Bull," she shot back. "You ran like a coward, thinking of yourself. You're nothing but a scared little boy, trying to make yourself feel better for abandoning everything. You care for your land, but what do you think will happen when two royals die in a foreign land of ninja? If our land burns in war, it'll be with the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and it'll be all your fault!"

"Shut up!" he shouted and lunged at her, knocking her blade away with force she didn't know he had. It sunk into the ground a good ten feet away, but before she could even run to collect it, steel forced its way into her leg.

Pain exploded in her mind as she stifled as scream, grasping at her leg, only to be knocked to the ground. His katana was yanked cruelly out of her flesh and planted into her right shoulder, effectively pinning her to the ground.

With no grace he dropped down on her stomach, making her howl from the pain.

"How beautiful," he whispered. "You were always so strong, always beating me in that courtyard when we were younger. Never would I have dreamed of killing you so easily." Long and strong fingers wrapped around her throat, choking her, stealing the air from her very lungs. "But here you are, just laying there as if you'd never had any training at all. I imagine you must be in a lot of pain right now. Tell me, why not ever let that stomach heal? How many times did it rip open? How many times did it get infected or worse and you would just let it be? And I wonder, did you ever cut into it yourself, to keep it from healing?"

"I'm not that sick," she snarled at him, her voice rough more from the fact that she couldn't breathe than anything else. "But what about you? I suppose it's my fault that you couldn't just stay away, huh? You wanted to leave all that time, only to come back? They would have caught you so you never ran when they were alive, but killing a little princess, that was easy for a 'great warrior' like you! You were terrified that they'd drag you back, because you were too weak to be able to hide! You were scared, you were WEAK!"

A blow from his fist whipped her head to the side, nearly knocking teeth out. She coughed weakly as her vision blurred. Fingers grasped around, looking for something, anything to defend herself. A rock met her palm and she quickly gripped it and brought it up along his face, knocking him off of her with a gasp of pain.

The hilt was out of reach so she had to grab the blade with her hand and wrenched it out of her shoulder, slicing through her palm as she did so. Blood dripped onto the soft grass as she stumbled lightly trying to stand, katana gripped in her hands. Ragged breath left her lips as he stood as well and glared at her, holding the bleeding side of his head.

"You fucking bitch," he snapped at her.

"You tell me," she stated calmly as she approached him, only her trembling legs showing how much pain she was in. Blood dribbled out of her mouth from his earlier punch, but she paid it no mind. She struck a rather imposing figure actually, blood seeping from various parts of her body, but her only attention was on him.

"You tell me," she repeated, "did you actually think I was going to let you leave? You actually thought I couldn't handle you? You actually thought for one little moment you could kill me?" She gripped the blade tighter, and his eye widened when he saw she was standing between him and the only other katana there was hers which he himself had knocked away. A fist met his chin, and he was thrown to the ground, his katana suddenly slicing through his stomach.

She ignored his screaming, instead planting the blade firmly into his left elbow and stepping on his other hand, making sure he wouldn't get away.

"I should let you suffer," she snarled. "I should kill you as slowly as possible, for all the pain you caused her. But the fact is, I… I have no right to judge you. You and I have the all the same sins. We ran from duty, lied, let loved ones get killed, and took no responsibility for it. To kill you out of some kind of justice would be wrong."

She pulled the katana out of him.

"So I'm not going to kill you," she told him and threw the blade down near his head. "I'm going to give you the one thing our family never would grace me, or you either if they had known your heart. I'm going to give you a chance at honor. You can take that blade and take your life yourself, or we can continue this little charade you called a fight until you and I both bleed to death. Either way, you loose."

She stepped off of his only good arm and began to walk away, back to her own blade. She heard a soft rustling of grass as he collected his blade, and ran at her.

"If I go so do ugh-" he stopped short as her katana thrust into his chest.

"Poor… pathetic Kekkon," she barely managed, even as she looked down at the blade invading her side. "Don't you get it? I… I'm dead anyway. I… I've lost… too much blood to make it back. And by… by the time we're found… no one… is going to be able to save a corpse."

"At least I got you," he bit back.

"…yeah… and at least I saved her…" she gasped as she thrust her blade in just a little bit further. She saw the lit dim in his eyes as his grip on his handle lessened and he fell, lifeless, to the ground. The thump of his body hitting the earth seemed so much louder than it was suppose to, and with a small surge of pain that seemed so light compared to the rest, she pulled his weapon out of her again and let it slip out of her hand.

Her body felt so tired, so drained all of a sudden, and she struggled against her protesting legs, trying to reach the nearest tree. She wanted to rest so bad, wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. Her shoulder eased into the bark when she reached the tree, resting her back against it and sliding down to a sitting position.

It was getting quieter. For some reason she couldn't hear the calling of the birds anymore, and the world was staring to go dark too. She didn't mind too much. It was a calming effect as she just sat there and breathed slowly, waiting for the inevitable. She couldn't even feel the pain anymore, which is more than she could have said for two whole years. Not only in her stomach, but her heart. She'd been healed, by a rash Dog Nin who seemed to enjoy bickering with her as much as he liked playing with his dog.

Tears trailed down her cheeks as she realized how he was going to see her next. Bloody and broken, dead with nothing that he could do about it. She knew it would make him feel powerless, and how much he hated that. She felt like she'd done something wrong, giving him false hope that he could have had her, but more than anything, she hated herself for giving that false hope to herself.

"It's alright," she lied to herself. There was no one around to hear her sound so weak, so far gone. It'd be safe to tell herself a pathetic lie. She'd earned the right. "It's… going to be okay. He… he didn't need you. This way… this way… he can find some…one whole. Someone… who can love him without the scars."

And with that small comfort, telling herself that she wouldn't be missed, at least not for too long, she let her eyes slowly close. A soft wind blew over her body, giving her one last comfort before her body stopped moving at all.

--

Kiba remembered waking up, reaching out for the woman who should have been there, but found no one. His bleary eyes opened and wondered sleepily if she was on the other side of the bed. But he snapped awake when he saw that he was alone.

She had left.

"No!" he screamed suddenly and grabbed at his pants, yanking them on and rushing to the door.

He wrenched it open, only to see Sakura, her arms slightly risen as if she were about to knock. Faint tears were rolling down her cheek, and her lip quivered.

"No," he whispered again with less force, but a hundred times more pain. "No."

Sakura shook her head and suddenly let her tears fall freely as she grabbed Kiba and sobbed into his chest. He held onto her shaking form, feeling as if his heart had been torn out. The pain was unbearable, even as Sakura desperately tried to explain they'd done everything they'd done to save her.

"I was here," he growled out angrily. "I was here and I didn't even hear her leave! Goddamit, why'd she do it?! We would have found him!"

_Can you hear me!? Setsuna open your eyes! You need to wake up!_

Setsuna groaned as she felt her body being shifted slightly. She could have sworn she'd just seen Kiba and Sakura… they'd been crying. She was dead and they were crying.

Her eyes fought to open and she was rewarded to see Neji looking at her, his pupil-less eyes wide and staring at her. Something was pushing against her stomach, and she saw his hand red with her blood, applying pressure to her blood ridden body, trying to save her.

"Ne…ji?" she gasped out faintly.

"It's alright," he told her, calming down now that she was conscious again. He was wrapping something around her shoulder as he spoke. "I don't know anything about Healing Justus aside from regular first aid kits, but I think it'll be fine until I can get you to the Village. You'll be alright."

"Why?" she managed.

"I saw you at the Village from a ways off. I was assigned to look for Kekkon, but it looks like you killed him first."

Setsuna said nothing but closed her eyes again with a small sigh.

"Kiba's gonna… kill me when… he sees me like this," she said chuckling softly before erupting into a coughing fit.

"Don't talk," he warned her. "You're going to need to try and stay awake through this, so I can make sure you're alright. Just stay still, and I'll get you back soon."

He tended her wounds as best she could, working quickly, and she fought to stay awake as he tore at his clothing to wrap her stomach, leg and shoulder up. And when he was done, he gently slipped his arms under her to lift her bridal style.

"Don't worry," he said, showing her a rare smile. "I'll get you to Lady Tsunade, and you'll be fine."

She nodded and looked over at the body of her brother.

"He said he was a slave," she whispered, her breathing having become regular again, though her voice was still softer than it should have been. "He said he ran because he hated his servitude to the Zenkon Family."

"Did he?" Neji asked, his face impassive.

"I think he saw me the same way, a slave, but I never felt like one," she commented and looked at Neji. "Was I wrong or was he?"

"Neither," he told her. "I can understand how you feel, honoring your place in keeping those important to you safe, and I can see how he resented the fact that he was forced to."

She felt confused.

"Neji?"

"Maybe later," he told her as he began to walk. "For now we need to get you back."

"One more thing then?" she whispered.

"What?"

"Would you…when you take me to the Village… will you come back to bury him for me? He deserves a grave."

"Of course," he told her with a nod.

--

Tsunade was irritated with her, Setsuna could just tell. It'd been whole week and a half and she hadn't stopped receiving glares from the Hokage for one single moment.

"I'm not letting you go," she said for the hundredth time. "You're staying here."

Setsuna just sighed and let her head flop back on the pillow. She honestly didn't see what all this bed rest was for, she'd been feeling okay for a while now, but if anything this woman was strict.

'Old bitty,' she pouted in her mind but was already forming a plan on how she was going to sneak out and meet with Lady Zenkon. The princess had long ago sent word to her homeland to let her know of the tragedy of the death of her father, and had been immediately asked to come back home. That had been two days ago, and she was planning on leaving today with Shino escorting her along with Neji and some guy named Rock Lee. She'd met him once in the hospital when he'd visited her on the account of the fact he was friends with Neji and after ten minutes of hearing practically nothing coming put of his mouth but the word youth at least a few dozen times, she'd almost decided that she could let Lady Zenkon go home safely on her own.

But if she stayed in this damn bed for one more day she was going to hurt someone.

"I'm well enough to travel," she argued back. "Lady Zenkon will need someone with her, someone familiar she can rely on."

Tsunade paused and looked away for a moment. Setsuna knew what she was thinking.

The wedding had been canceled, for now at least, though everyone feared it was for good. Lady Zenkon had confessed to her that she would try to fix the situation, but the samurai wasn't very hopeful.

Setsuna knew it hurt both the princess and Shino, knew that they'd spent all available time together, and knew their journey to her home was simply so they could have a little more time together. She didn't see the reason to call it off. They were in love, and her land would still need a new Daimyo. Which was another reason why she had decided to go along. She was going to force Shino to ask to marry Lady Zenkon if she had to tie him upside down to a tree until he did it.

There was no reason for them not to be happy at least, since she didn't know where she and Kiba stood with each other.

She remembered the first time he'd seen her, bursting in moments after Tsunade had told everyone she was allowed visitors.

He had yelled at her for a whole thirty minutes, and she had waited patiently, feeling he had the right to be angry with her. In fact when he'd finished she'd told him she didn't care if he hated her, because she knew she deserved it, but he had proceeded to climb into bed with her and hold her, planting soft kisses anywhere that wasn't bruised or bandaged, though that hadn't been much really, and promised her more when she was better. It had been a sweet promise, but she still worried what was going to happen when she left, maybe forever.

She really wished Shino could have something better with Lady Zenkon.

"I know your worried," Tsunade said. "But you really need to stay. It isn't safe for you to go anywhere right now. Sakura and I need to keep an eye on you."

"Why?" she asked, a tone of defiance in her voice that she didn't even try to hide.

"Because if we aren't around to make sure you're well taken care of, you're going to end up loosing your baby."

Setsuna paled as she stared at Tsunade.

"I know your body is rather badly damaged, it has been for years. I can't even guarantee that we can help you, but it's a lot better odds if you stay here for the next nine months. You leave, I can guarantee you won't carry to term."

Setsuna's breathing hitched.

"Does Kiba know?" she asked.

Tsunade shook her head.

"I thought it best if you told him. But he is right down the hall. I think he figured you'd try to escape."

'This had better not be a ploy to keep me here,' she thought savagely, but she knew the woman couldn't be that cruel.

"Shall I get him for you?" she asked and Setsuna nodded, letting her leave and within few minutes Kiba was walking in.

"Hey, are you leaving toda-"

Setsuna was on him in a moment, pressing him up against the wall as he stared at her even as she kissed him senseless. Hands drug into his hair and she drew away for only a moment.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered huskily in his ear. "And guess whose fault it is."

"What? But I thought you…"

"I have to stay," she said. "Tsunade said she could help, and I'm going to let her. I know Lady Zenkon would never let me come along now anyway. So, you going to keep your promise now that I'm better?"

Kiba grinned and threw her on the bed as she giggled. He paused at the sound, even as he hovered above her.

"You giggled," he stated disbelievingly.

"Yes?"

"You giggled."

"So?" she asked.

"I've never heard you giggle before."

She shrugged.

"Do it again."

"What? No."

He got a dangerous glint in his eyes and she paled.

"Kiba," she growled warningly.

"What?"

"Kiba, don't even think about it."

"I'm not thinking of nothing," he replied innocently.

"Kiba…DON'T!"

She shrieked as he suddenly grabbed her and tickled her sides. Trying desperately to beat him off of her, her fists pounded his chest.

"Ow… OW! Okay! I'll stop, I'll stop!" he cried out desperately before leaning down into her, his arm propped above her head to hold him up. "Geez, you never knew how to hold back, did you?"

"You just now figuring that out?" she asked, though she was smiling. "Good thing you're so good at goofing off. The kid's going to need someone to relate to… Daddy."

"I think I like the sound of that," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

--

Oh my god, I'm so sorry that I let you think I killed her! I'm so, so sorry! I'm sure you all want to kill me, and I deserve it! But I hope the last half of this chapter will placate you. It's a good start to a good ending.

Mori and Shino are still coming up, but don't worry, there are getting married, just incase there were some of you that were worried about it. I'm not going to shaft them, I promise.

Well, I'd love some reviews to let me know what everyone thought of this. You can even flame me for my horrible treatment of Setsuna, since I really do deserve it.

Honestly, I feel bad for what I did to Kekkon. This entire time he was painted up as some horrible monster, and to be honest, I'm not sure myself if that was true or not. Maybe in the end, he really was trying to help his home in a way he thought best, or maybe he was just an angry young man who wanted to get back at the two families he thought had been using him. No one will ever know, so I'll let you decide for yourselves.


	16. Endings Carve the Way for Beginings

Naruto: Don't own it.

Setsuna, Mori, the Daimyo, Kekkon, Hosaki, and Mouretsu: Do own them.

'Nuff said.

Chapter 16: Endings Carve the Way for Beginings

Mori had hugged Setsuna so hard when she had found out, that her samurai had started to turn blue by the time she let go. She wasn't the only one; as soon Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were all gushing over her and refused to let any man near her while they talked about all the possibilities. Where'd they live, what names she would pick out, if she preferred a girl or a boy, and when the marriage date was going to be.

"Don't I get any say in this?" Kiba asked from the back of the cramped hospital room.

"No," Shikamaru answered. "Trust me. I know."

"Surely Temari wasn't this bad when you proposed last month?" Naruto asked.

"Tch, she had the china picked out before I even showed her the ring. Kankuro had to take me out for the day just to make sure she didn't claw my eyes out when I told her I didn't want to get married in the dessert."

"So you're getting hitched at her Village?" Kiba asked.

"Oh yeah."

"Sounds nice," Shino commented.

"Oh come on," Kiba said as Akamaru barked in agreement, "we both know you ain't letting that sweet thing slip away. Go get her, tiger."

It was impressive how well Shino could give a blank stare with sunglasses on.

"Are you sure I should go?" Mori's voice suddenly cut through their conversation. "I could stay a day or two longer."

"No, Lady Zenkon, the longer you stay the worse the situation could get. I promise things will be okay. After all, you'll have Shino with you."

At hearing the bug master's name, Sakura's and Ino's ears both pricked up, and they both looked to him, eyes glinting evilly.

"You two need to pack," Ino suddenly said as she took hold of Mori.

"Yeah, pack. It'll be a long trip," Sakura agree as she latched onto Shino.

"Good luck," Shikamaru sighed as they were both rushed out of the room, despite all kind of protesting.

Kiba snickered.

--

Mori had the door slam behind her and Shino and blushed lightly when she realized just why they'd both been pushed out.

"Well, um.. guess it's too late to tell them I'm already set?"

"Hm," he replied.

"Are you sulking?" she asked with a small smile.

"Hm."

She took his hand in her and leaned into his arm.

"I'm really happy for them. But considering the father is here, I guess she's going to be living here from now on. I think it's for the best though."

"Of course," he told her.

"I'm staying too of course," she told him and he barely kept himself from blinking in surprise, even if she couldn't have seen it anyway.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, not immediately, but I'm not taking the throne. I'm too young, too inexperienced to know what's right for everyone. I haven't nailed down all the details, but I'll be heading back to take care of all that."

"What brought all this on?" he asked.

"When you told me about your Hokage, that everyone respected her and had chosen her, I couldn't help but think how wonderful that would be for my people. I have an older cousin, a few times removed, but he's a good man, and with a sensible head on his shoulders, with a wife and young son already. He's studied our trade lines and armies since he was younger, simply with the intent to help the ruler, never thinking he'd become one himself. I'm going to throw my support behind him, but ultimately I went to set up a system where my people can decide for themselves."

"A democracy," he said and she nodded.

"It'll take a while, and I know it's not right to ask you to wait since it'll require going back and forth a lot for me in a year or so, but I've volunteered to be a permanent ambassador to this land to help the treaty along. It might be a rough couple of years, but… I would really appreciate someone by my side who could help me through it all."

"A husband?" he asked.

"Yes. But I'd like it if we could have it in my homeland. It would really help my people, having something to celebrate… considering…"

He pulled her into a hug.

"You know my answer," he told her gently.

--

Shino had seen Mori in the robes of a princess only once, the first time he had ever met her. He had remembered thinking when he had seen her dressed as a normal girl, the clothing of royalty did not seem to fit her personality as well. But now, as she stood on a large palace balcony, overlooking her capital and her subjects, he could not help but feel as if he might have been wrong. She looked majestic and solemn as she slowly approached the edge, fine fabrics shimmering in the sunlight, about to change the history of her country.

"My people," she started, speaking much more loudly and confidently than he had ever heard, "it is with the deepest sadness in my heart to announce to you that our Lord and Daimyo is now gone to the land of the living. He lost his life in a struggle to merge two lands, and two cultures, together. He dreamed of bringing Ninja and Samurai together as equals, despite what anyone opposed to him may have thought. He was a good man, a fair ruler, and a wonderful and loving father. It breaks my heart to bring you the news of his demise, knowing it was out of a malicious attempt to destroy not only his life, but also his dream.

"But this does not yet mean the end. We still live on, and can move on as one. I believe that the dream of brining a Hidden Village is not right for now, for the wounds, emotional and physical, are still too fresh. But I hope that we can still call these people friends, to know that we can be allies with them in times of crisis… and of peace. To know that we have those that we can receive help from, and give help, lets me know that my father did not die in vain. Ninja or no, I found people there willing to give me courage, help, and friendship.

"And they also gave me one more thing. They gave me the one thing I have hoped for all of my life. They have shown me a way to help my people the most. The told me how to give you all happiness. A leader because of bloodline is not what is needed, but a leader with talent, experience, and most of all, a leader one that everyone can choose and respect. I am not that person, but instead someone else must take my place. Someone who can care for you and love you as much as I do, but give everything I cannot. It is your choices that lead you, not mine. Therefore, I simply suggest a suitable leader and hope that you all agree."

Stunned silence followed her speech, until suddenly, as if by one, thunderous applause cheering and applause broke out. Mori stood there, a single tear tracing her cheek as she smiled and bowed to her people.

--

As it turned out, her people accepted the idea happily of having the man becoming the next Daimyo, and the wedding was the kind she'd always dreamed of. She was surprised when many ninja from the Land of Fire showed up, including Hinata who had caught the bouquet, glanced at Naruto, and fainted as he smiled broadly at her.

Setsuna had also made the trip, followed closely by Sakura at all times. It had been nearly four months since she'd seen her friend, and she was starting to get a little heavy.

"It's actually going better than we could have hoped for," she had told her old charge. "It was scary during the first two months, a lot of false alarms mostly because I was terrified of the worst, but it's going smoothly now. Sakura needs to make constant checks, but Tsunade told me it was a sure thing by now."

Kiba on the other hand looked pretty tired, even if he was puffing up at every congratulation he got.

"Food cravings," he muttered to Shino while they'd been talking. "I swear, you better start stocking up on ice cream now. Ah, but at least she's not Temari. Last letter Shikamaru sent, apparently she's taken a liking to mint on her broccoli."

"Sounds horrible," Shino answered, not really listening.

"Let me guess," Kiba asked when he saw Shino looking at his new wife, "thinking about how quick you can get that kimono off of her when you get her alone."

"I don't know what he did, but I'm going to bet he deserved it," Setsuna commented as she saw Kiba running around, arms waving wildly as thousands of small beetles craving his chakra buzzed in pursuit not close behind. Even Akamaru was given him wide berth, not wanting to catch flees again.

"Are you going to do any visiting?" Mori asked, letting her implication sit there without actually saying it. She didn't know if Setsuna would actually want to, and didn't want her to feel as if she had to.

"Actually I am after the reception," Setsuna said. "I think it's about time I did and I'm not sure when I'll get another chance."

"What?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to say hi to someone special to me," she answered. "But I'd rather do it alone. Think I can get five minutes to myself?"

"Well, Lady Tsunade said…" Sakura started but sighed. "I suppose so. But I'll be nearby, just incase."

--

"Hello Ryou," Setsuna whispered as she stood in the empty courtyard. This place where she'd seen him die, along with everyone else she had loved. "I never thought I'd be doing this, but I guess its time I grow up and face reality. My brother found me a while ago, he survived just like me, but I had to kill him in the end. I'd like to say it's all your fault, that you did all of this, but I guess you were just on orders, trying to make it in this world just the same as everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I haven't forgiven you, but I think I'm finally moving on. I've been wondering lately if you loved me too, if you were just placing me second, just like I did to you. I still remembering you asking me to run away with you when I told the night before you all attacked. That's the only thing that never made any sense. If I had said yes, I would have been gone with you the next day, not causing a distraction for my family, not having my life nearly snuffed out. Were you just angry with me that I chose her over you? I guess I'll never know for sure, and I'll be honest, it hurts more to think it wasn't all just an act on your part.

"I'm pregnant again, but I guess you don't care much about that. I don't know what I would have done if I had given to birth to our child. I still wonder what that he would have been like, and if he'd like to have a younger sibling on the way. Maybe it would have been a girl, and I could have painted her up pretty in fancy kimonos and let her be the girl I'd never even thought I wanted to be until I met you. Still wonder what would have happened if you had been everything you claimed to be. But I guess it's hopeless to ponder could-have-beens. We had our chance, but I'm happy with Kiba now. I just… well I wanted to say goodbye, since we'd never managed it before."

--

"I really wish I had known earlier," Mori said as she sat in her old room with Shino, leaning against him. "I might have been able to help."

"I think she held it in to try and help you," he said. "She only had you left to protect. She needed to feel that she was still needed."

"She's always been needed," Mori whispered. "I just never had the right idea about how things worked until recently."

"Hm?"

"I thought if I waited everything would be okay. My mother Kochou, her name meant butterfly. I thought if I waited long enough, I'd be wonderful just like she had always been, like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. But Setsuna helped me understand that I had to do that myself. Well, her and you."

"You never needed to wait for anything," he told her serenely as he trailed his fingers through her hair. "You were always beautiful."

She blushed through her smile and leaned in to kiss him, slowly removing his jacket as she did so.

--

"Kiba?" Setsuna asked as he cuddled up to her in bed.

"'M not moving," he grumbled as he pressed his face into her hair. "Mmmm, vanilla."

"Actually, I'd love some vanilla ice cream right about now."

"Woman," he whined. "You just ate. I'm not moving."

"I was kidding," she hissed at him. "No, I was just wondering, have you thought about what's going to become of us now?"

"What do you mean?" he asked and propped up on his elbow to look at her. "Are you having second thoughts about staying in the Leaf Village?"  
She shook her head.

"Of course not," she told him. "Everything for me is going to be there. Why in the world would I give that all up? No, I've been wondering about…us… you know, doing this whole raising a child thing. Obviously you want to raise it in your traditions, but I think it's important to know swordsmanship as well."

"You want to train our kid in the ways of samurai?" he asked. "Well, I figured on that already."

"No, more than that," she said. "I want… I want to become a teacher at the school."

"What?" he asked incredulously. "You don't know anything about ninjustu."

"And you don't know anything about our code either. Think about it, don't you think it'd be great to instill that kind of training in the future sets of ninja? I don't think the merging will ever happen between our two lands like the Daimyo had wanted, but this might be a step in the right direction, and at very least it will mean a job for me. I know Sakura won't let me work now, but I'm not about to let you take care of me forever."

"Setsuna," he said with a strange smile. "You've changed a lot."

"You think so?"

He nodded.

"If someone had told me that I was going to end up with that bitchy samurai that got so uppity when I told my best friend that a princess didn't look much like a princess, I would have laughed."

She scowled and rolled over.

"Good night, Kiba."

"What? But we haven't-"

"I said good night."

"But we always-"

Kiba grumbled from where he'd been pushed out of the bed.

"Since you're up," she said from where she cuddled into the extra spare room now suddenly in the bed, "I'd really like some strawberry."

"Later," he said as he climbed back on matress. Giving a mischievous grin that she couldn't see, he ran a hand up her blanket covered thigh.

"Kiba?" she squeaked.

"I'm going to make you beg," he snarled huskily before nipping at her ear. "I'll be damned if Shino gets some tonight and I get told to get ice cream."

"Kiba!" she breathed in shock. "How can you talk about my charge like that?"

"Easy," he told her playfully. "Aw don't worry, I'm sure they're enjoying themselves."

She bit back a small moan as he began to lick at the hollow in her neck.

"Kiba?" she asked softly.

"Hm?"

"Can you please get some chocolate?"

He suddenly sat up with a growl of frustration.

"Dammit! I am not getting you any ice cream!"

She arched an eyebrow at him and gave a very distracting lick of her lips as she sat up.

"Who said anything about ice cream?" she asked.

--

"So when are you planning on coming back?" Setsuna asked Mori the next day, sitting around a table in the palace with Ino, Sakura and Hinata.

"Soon," the ambassador answered. "Maybe a month or two. We're still trying to establish all the adjustments that are taking place. Shino and I will be back in time to see the baby born of course, but I may have to leave again soon to come back. Not everything is going to be handled in one day."

"Honestly," Ino said, her chin resting on the back of her hand, "I'm kind of surprised that you are getting back to work already. I mean you just got married. Shouldn't you be having a honeymoon or something?"

Mori blushed deeply and suddenly found a crack on the table very interesting.

"I'm sure we'll have more time later," she said quickly. "Speaking of which, Setsuna, we didn't talk too much about what your plans were. Have made any decisions pertaining to the baby yet?"

"Some, none of them permanent," Setsuna replied with a smile. It seemed to the princess she did that much more now. "I've decided to train the kid as much as Kiba does. Of course, I took the Inuzuka name, but I want him to know everything there is to know about me. That's why I've decided to give him Kekkon's sword when he's old enough."

"His sword?" Mori asked.

Setsuna looked down all of a sudden, her usually dark expression returning.

"So much pain was caused because of that sword, including Kekkon's. When Neji buried him he brought me back his sword. I decided the day that I found out I was pregnant that my child should inherit the blade, in order to redeem it and him."

Mori smiled at her samurai and oldest friend.

"I think you're right."

--

Wow, finally the end. Well, there's also the epilogue, but that should be up soon.

Please review. I'd really appreciate it.


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